End 'preferential' access to UK for EU workers post-Brexit: Report

All migration to the UK should be managed uniformly with no preferential access to European Union (EU) workers after Brexit, a new UK government-commissioned report said on Tuesday.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report comes a day after British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated the UK was keen to move away from a dual immigration system post-Brexit that discriminates between workers from the EU and those from countries like India.

The MAC had been charged with collating recommendations for a new immigration policy for once Britain has left the 28-member economic bloc next year.

"If – and this is not a MAC recommendation – immigration is not to be part of the negotiations with the EU and the UK is deciding its future migration system in isolation, we recommend moving to a system in which all migration is managed with no preferential access to EU citizens,” concludes its report titled 'EEA (European Economic Area) Migration in the UK'.

Acknowledging the political constraints of migration as one of the factors that could sway ongoing Brexit negotiations, the report adds: "If the UK decides on its new immigration system in isolation from the negotiations about the future relationship with the EU, we do not see compelling reasons to offer a different set of rules to EEA and non-EEA citizens."

"A migrant's impact depends on factors such as their skills, employment, age and use of public services, and not fundamentally on their nationality."

The findings align with Theresa May's message on Monday that the government was looking at rules that would apply to all migrants equally because British voters who favored an exit from the EU in the June 2016 referendum did not want a situation where EU migrants have "automatic rights in terms of coming here to the United Kingdom and a set of rules for people outside the European Union".

Under the EU's free movement rules, EU citizens have so far been able to enter the UK freely and look for work on arrival as opposed to strict visa norms that apply to non-EU workers from countries like India.

The MAC report, which will be taken into account by the government as it prepares its future immigration strategy, also recommends no limits or caps on the number of highly skilled workers such as doctors and engineers who can come and work in the UK.

"If the UK is in a position where it is deciding the main features of its immigration policy, our recommendation is that there should be a less restrictive regime for higher-skilled workers than for lower-skilled workers in a system where there is no preference for EEA (European Economic Area) over non-EEA workers,” it notes.

MAC used a series of research figures to conclude that higher-skilled workers tend to have higher earnings, which means they make a more positive contribution to the public finances of the UK and have an overall positive impact on productivity and innovation. The current cap on skilled workers is set at 20,700 per year for migrants from non-EU countries like India.

The UK Home Office said it will "carefully consider" the report's recommendations before setting out further detail on the UK's future immigration system.

"After we leave the EU, we will take back control of our borders and put in place an immigration system that works in the interests of the whole of the UK,” a Home Office spokesperson said.

"We commissioned this report in addition to our engagement with business to better understand the impact of EU citizens on the UK labor market. The government is clear that EU citizens play an important and positive role in our economy and society and we want that to continue after we leave,” the spokesperson said, in response to the report which had been commissioned by former Home Secretary Amber Rudd in July last year.

The report's findings were welcomed by Britain's Opposition Labour Party, with shadow home secretary Diane Abbott saying it would pave the way to end the discrimination of migrants from Commonwealth countries.

"Labour has said that our immigration policy needs to be based on our economic needs while meeting our legal obligations and treating people fairly. (This) means ending the discrimination against non-EU migrants, especially from the Commonwealth," Abbott said.

Earlier this year, the government had launched a review of its strict visa quotas available to professionals from countries like India and announced that doctors and nurses from non-EU countries would be exempt from its Tier 2 (General) monthly visa limit of 1,600 to address particular shortages and pressures facing the state-funded National Health Service (NHS).

The latest MAC report has now called for a complete overhaul of such limits.

The issue of migration continues to be a highly contentious one, with the UK’s ruling Conservative party's commitment to reduce annual net migration to the country to the tens of thousands – a target it has continued to miss over the years.

"I along with many others agree that the net migration target is a nonsensical policy, and the government has completely failed to come anywhere near achieving it – even if you were to exclude EU net migration,” said British Indian entrepreneur Lord Karan Bilimoria, who has been lobbying for a more practical immigration policy for international students as co-chair of the UK's All Party Parliamentary Group for International Students.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)