A much stricter "Australian-style points-based" immigration system has long been promised for a post-Brexit Britain, but now we have the detail of what it will look like. Assuming it gets approval from MPs and peers, the main features will be: •No visas for low-skilled workers - the likes of restaurant, care home and food processing plant staff. •Visitors - from EU or non-EU countries - will be able to come to the UK for six months without a visa, but won't be able to work. •Overseas workers will have to speak English and have the offer of a skilled job with an "approved sponsor". •They'll also need to collect points elsewhere - with certain qualifications, for example - in order to clear the 70-point hurdle. Some rules will be loosened to help those looking to recruit - for example, the scheme for seasonal workers in agriculture will be expanded. There will also no longer be an overall limit on the number of skilled workers allowed to come and the salary cap for them will be lowered. While business group the CBI has welcomed some of the proposals, it joins the likes of the Royal College of Nursing, the Food and Drink Federation and the National Farmers' Union who are very worried about potential shortages. Unison says the plans "spell absolute disaster for the care sector" in particular. Labour and the SNP seem to agree. The government insists it wants employers to "move away" from relying on "cheap labour" from Europe and invest in retaining staff and developing automation technology instead. The BBC Briefing team has produced an in-depth online guide to immigration - check it out. You can also find out how immigration has changed in your area in recent decades. |