Ban on lower paid migrants ‘disastrous’

BUSINESS leaders have warned that plans to bar skilled migrants from coming to the UK after Brexit unless they earn more than £30,000 will hurt companies “across the board”.

Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, is poised to announce plans that will cut migration by as much as 80 per cent after Brexit and could reduce the numbers from 74,000 to between 10,000 and 25,000.

Under the plans, migrants will have to earn at least £30,000 before they are allowed to come to Britain on five-year-long visas.

Low-skilled migrants will be able to come to the UK on one-year visas on a “temporary” basis if they have jobs. Once their visas expire, they must leave the country and will be unable to apply to return until a “cooling off ” period of a year has passed. The Daily Telegraph revealed at the weekend that the plans had led to a Cabinet row amid concerns that the £30,000 threshold could damage businesses.

Adam Marshall, directorgeneral of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “At a time when the UK population is ageing, and we need more people to fill these roles, we know there are not enough home-grown workers to ensure a steady supply of labour for these jobs. Dramatic restrictions on immigration for lower skilled workers would be disastrous, as would a system that massively increases the cost to business of employing overseas workers.

“This also requires sensitivity to different local labour markets across the UK where an arbitrary £30,000 salary threshold will hurt businesses across the board.”

The Government will also ban the cap for highly skilled workers after Brexit such as doctors and nurses so the UK can continue to attract the “brightest and best”.

The Telegraph disclosed last month that, according to leaked Home Office papers, the fundamental “tenet” of the new system will be that it should “not afford specific preference to EU citizens”.

“It should be a universal system applying to both EU and non-eu alike,” the papers state. EU students will benefit from a “lighter touch” regime than non-eu students although they will have their academic ability assessed along with their “financial means” and “English language ability”.

Sources said there had been “significant” rows over the plans, with Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, and Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, among ministers who have raised concerns.