UK announces cap on skilled workers, to let in only 21,700
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LONDON: The British government, for the first time, has drawn a marker for net migration, which includes a cap on immigration from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) — a policy that will affect Indians the most, for they constitute the largest influx among highly skilled and skilled workers.
The Conservative party-Liberal Democrat alliance's tough talking home minister, Theresa May, imposed a 22.05% cut on "highly skilled" migrants on Tuesday. In other words, not more than 21,000 people will be allowed into the UK from outside the EEA on work permits April 1, 2011, onward.
Visas for skilled workers without job offer will be down to an even more drastic 1,000 in 2011-12. Last year, 50,000 visas were issued for tier one (highly skilled) and tier two (skilled) workers from outside EEA. Of those, 22,000 came on intra-company transfers. May critcised the previous Labour government's policy of raising net migration to 196,000 in 2009 and said, "We cannot go on like this."
She also warned that student visas will in future be granted almost wholly to those coming for post-graduate courses. And from next week, only those competent in English can join partners or spouses in the UK. But May also created a entrepreneur visa which will have no limits to attract, in her words, "the brightest and the best".
Indian origin Labour MO, Keith Vaz, who is chairman of the home affairs select committee, said, "There are going to be so many exemptions, from the education sector to elite scientists to football players to business, that it actually won't be a cap at all."
Admittedly, the government's restriction will not include employees transferred by their companies from another country if their salary is more than 40,000 pounds.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), with an annual turnover of over $1bn in UK, had lobbied hard for leniency on intra-company transfers. Its chief executive in Europe, A S Lakshmi, emphasised that over 85% of ICT professionals brought in by TCS from abroad in 2007 left UK within two years. He stressed, "This is a trade and skills issue, not an immigration matter." (the times of india)=======================================================
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