UK immigration: Tighter UK visa criteria for migrants

Government trying to reduce immigration to sustainable levels.

ISLAMABAD:

UK Immigration Minister Damian Green has set out plans for stricter visa criteria for applicants who want to stay in the UK. The workers will now be re-classified as either “Temporary” or “Permanent” and will no longer be able to apply for settlement under proposals announced by the UK government.

According to a statement issued by the British High commission in Islamabad, the UK government is implementing reforms in their immigration system to reduce the levels to more sustainable levels.

The UK government is re-classifying the visa titles as either “Temporary” or “Permanent”. “We intend to break the automatic link between coming to the UK to work and settling here permanently,” Green said.

“Settlement has become almost automatic for those who choose to stay. This needs to change. The immigration system has got to be made to work properly. We want the brightest and best workers to come to the UK, make a strong contribution to our economy while they are here, and then return home.”Green added.

Under the current system, many workers are allowed to apply to stay in the UK permanently. In 2010, 84,000 people who entered the UK for employment were granted settlement, significantly less than the 10,000 who qualified for employment related settlement in 1997.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2011.