Points System Will Favor Skilled Immigrant Workers, Says Clarke

News article

By: Richard Ford

Date: March 8, 2006

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk. Ford, Richard. "Points System Will Favor Skilled Immigrant Workers, Says Clarke." March 8, 2006. 〈http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2075110,00.html〉 (accessed June 28, 2006).

About the Author: Timesonline.co.uk is the online version of The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers. Richard Ford is a reporter for The Times, a daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785.

INTRODUCTION

In March 2006, the British Labor government announced plans for a new points-based system for evaluating applications for immigration into the country for employment purposes, to be introduced the following year. The proposed new scheme was similar in nature to those already being operated in other countries, such as Australia and Canada, where points are awarded for such factors as qualifications, work experience, and language skills.

The scheme was intended to facilitate the entry to and settlement in the United Kingdom of highly-skilled and qualified people who could make significant contributions to the country and its economy, as well as addressing periodic labor shortages in specifically defined areas by allowing the short-term temporary migration of lower-skilled people with relevant training or work experience.

The new five-tier scheme will replace a complex system of work permits and other employment visas, which had evolved over time to include around eighty different categories of application, depending on the applicant's occupational group and nationality. The new system was intended to reduce confusion on the part of applicants and employers alike, while being more responsive to the needs of the economy.

The two top tiers of the new scheme will apply to highly skilled professionals and experts, and other qualified workers whose skills are needed in the United Kingdom, with the applications of people in these categories being evaluated in terms of qualifications, experience and existing salaries. Since Britain wants to attract skilled migrants who contribute to the country in the long term, the successful applicants will have the right to apply for permanent settlement after specified time periods, and will be allowed to bring their family members to Britain. No other migrant workers will be allowed to apply to settle permanently in the United Kingdom.

Under the new scheme, low-skilled workers from outside the European Union will only be allowed to enter Britain on a temporary basis, without their dependants, if they are need to fill specific temporary labor shortages. This is largely a response to the expansion of the European Union, which means that Britain is now likely to be able to fill most of its unskilled and low-skilled labor requirements with EU migrants, who are in general allowed to live and work in Britain without restriction. Many unskilled workers from the Eastern European countries that joined the EU in May 2004 have already migrated to Britain and boosted the unskilled and low-skilled labor force. By establishing a specific body to provide advice to the government on areas of labor shortage, the government is attempting to ensure that the immigration system is specifically tailored to the needs of the economy. It is also moving more closely towards the sort of 'guest worker' schemes operated by other Western European countries such as Germany.

Underpinning the development of this new system by the government was a policy perspective which sees immigration as essential to the future well-being of the country. It has been predicted that, without net migration, the population of the United Kingdom of working age will fall by around 2 million by the end of the first quarter of the twenty-first century, while the number of people of retirement age will increase by up to three million. This situation would be likely to create severe skills and labor shortages as well as difficulties for the provision and funding of health, social services, and pension systems.

PRIMARY SOURCE

Britain is to close the door on low-skilled migrants from outside Western Europe seeking work in the country under plans for a points-based immigration system.

Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, outlined plans yesterday for a scheme aimed at attracting the brightest and best workers.

A new five-tier system will allow only skilled workers to settle permanently, with the low and unskilled allowed entry for periods of up to a year before leaving. Companies and colleges will help the Government to police the system by sponsoring skilled workers and students. They will be expected to report to the Home Office when people fail to turn up and take jobs or college places or go absent for lengthy periods.

Low-skilled workers will enter the country only if a skills shortage in particular sectors is found. They will not be allowed to bring spouses or children with them. The low skilled may be made to hand over a financial bond, possess a return ticket or have money docked from their pay and put in a bank in their home country to ensure that they leave Britain.

They will only be allowed to come if a new body identifies labor shortages in particular areas of the economy, such as the building or catering industries. Mr. Clarke told a press conference that the five-tier scheme will replace the existing eighty work and study routes into the country.

He said that the plans would benefit the economy and protect British borders. Mr. Clarke added: "Crucially, it will allow us to ensure that only those people with the skills the UK needs come to this country, while preventing those without these skills applying."

Home Office documents outlining the proposals admitted that migration to Britain could leave the existing population "concerned about the impact on jobs, public services and their way of life."

It outlined a scheme in which most low-skilled workers will be expected in future to come from the EU and applicant states. Under the system migrants will be awarded points based on factors such as their age, qualifications, previous earnings and whether they have a job offer.

Tony McNulty, the Immigration Minister, said that the strategy would reduce immigration by the "wrong" sort of people.

Damian Green, the Shadow Immigration Minister, said: "We welcome a points-based system in principle—it is something we have been suggesting for a long time."

The CBI and TUC gave their support to the scheme, which ministers hope to begin implementing by 2008.

Julia Onslow-Cole, head of global immigration at CMS Cameron McKenna, an employment law firm, said: "I think that good employers have nothing to fear from this scheme. The scheme rewards good employers by giving a light touch to their immigration needs."

The Five Tiers

1. Highly skilled (such as a doctor) seventy-five points required. Bachelor degree thirty, Masters thirty-five, PhD fifty. Points for previous wages, weighted to take account of home country: five for £18,000 salary to forty-five for £45,000-plus. Points for age: Under twenty-seven years, twenty points; thirty to thirty-one, five points. Allowed to apply to settle in Britain permanently after two years. Allowed to bring dependants.
2. Skilled workers (such as nurses) fifty points required. Bachelor degree ten points, Masters ten, PhD fifteen, NVQ level three, five. Points for likely UK earnings: £15,000 to £18,000, five points, rising to twenty for £21,000-plus. Allowed to apply for settlement in UK after five years. Allowed to bring dependants.
3. Low-skilled in areas such as agriculture. No points system. Migrants only enter when there is a shortage of workers in a sector. Applicants may need open return ticket. Not allowed to apply for settlement.
4. Students. Must provide evidence they are studying with an accredited college. Allowed to remain in Britain for duration of study. Not allowed to apply for settlement. Allowed to bring dependants if over sixteen.
5. Temporary workers, au pairs, sports people in competitions, musicians on tour. Allowed in Britain for up to two years. Not allowed to apply for settlement. Temporary workers allowed to bring dependants; gap-year students no dependants.

SIGNIFICANCE

Already, studies have shown that U.K. businesses are facing difficulties in recruiting local staff, and increasingly rely on migrant workers to fill their vacancies. Moreover, although the evidence is not conclusive, several research studies have demonstrated that migrants offer net economic benefits, since they are more likely to be of working age and in employment than the native population, and over the course of their lifetime they pay more in taxes than they receive in public services and benefits. Studies have also found, however, that immigrants tend to be concentrated among both the highest paid and lowest paid members of the workforce, so it is important to ensure that immigration systems facilitate the entry of those who are most likely to be succeed economically.

Additionally, the new scheme is intended to play an important role in tightening the control of immigration to Britain and reducing the numbers of undocumented migrants. Many of these undocumented migrants are overstayers, who originally entered Britain on employment or student visas and failed to leave the country when their visas expired, or never even took up their jobs or college places. Various aspects of the new scheme are designed to address this problem, including the requirement for some low-skilled migrants to put down a financial bond, refundable only when they leave the country, and for employers and colleges to be involved in policing the scheme.

The proposals have received support from the main opposition party in Britain, the Conservatives, as well as the main employers' organization, the Confederation of British Industry, and the main association of worker unions, the Trades Unions Congress. Supporters of a points-based immigration system argue that it is more transparent and fair to applicants, as well as being more effective in contributing to the needs of the economy. Opponents of the scheme contend, however, that it is likely to lead to increased levels of unauthorized immigration, since many sectors of the economy, such as cleaning and catering, rely heavily on low-cost non-European Union labor and will continue to attract such workers.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Books

Glover, S., C. Gott, A. Loizillon, J. Portes, R. Price, S. Spencer, V. Srinivasan, and C. Willis, Migration: an Economic and Social Analysis, RDS Occasional Paper No. 67. The Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate, 2001.

Web sites

TimesOnLine. "Points System Will Favor Skilled Immigrant Workers, says Clarke." March 8, 2006. 〈http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2075110,00.html〉 (accessed June 28, 2006).