British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday unveiled last-minute post-immigration plan to win over the support of voters in the general election due on December 12. Four days ahead of the vote, Conservative Party leader Johnson has laid out the details of his plan termed as Conservative version of Australia-style point-based system aimed at controlling immigration into the UK after the Brexit.
Sharing his details with the Sunday Times, PM Johnson said there would be three categories of visas for those wanting to come to the UK. The first would be for “exceptional talent” that could be fast-tracked to the UK without needing a job offer, while a second type would be for skilled workers such as NHS staff to travel to the country when they have a job lined up. While both these groups would be given the chance to stay permanently, a third group of unskilled workers would be eligible for short-term visas in sectors where there are employee shortages but would not get permanent residence in the UK. Under the current immigrations rules, holders of work visas are eligible to apply for permanent stay after 5 years. All these proposed measures, Conservative sources claim, would control the UK overall immigration.
According to the latest surveys immigration is one of the main issues of concern for the British people and Johnson offensive on this suggests he is desperate to exploit the issue for his political gains. Conservatives are historical considered to have always introduced strict immigration rules in the UK while the opposition Labour are somehow soft and it was during the last government of Labour’s PM Tony Blair (1995- 2007) that liberal immigration rules were introduced. During the Blair’s era work permit criteria were relaxed, the number of international students was doubled, the government expanded low and high-skilled migrant worker schemes and launched various work visa route.
The conservative sources confirms that the propose changes would apply from 2022 and the 2 year break time would allow the new conservative government to provide an opportunity to the migrants to prove their right to be in the country, while also help the Government to crack down on those staying illegally. PM Boris during his tenure as Mayor of London in 2009 suggested an amnesty for illegal immigrants claiming that it would help the economy as around 500,000 immigrants are living in the UK. Some reports are suggesting that one time general amnesty may be announced after general election.–DT