THE brightest and the richest foreigners are to be allowed to enter the UK to seek jobs under a scheme heralding the biggest relaxation in immigration policy for 30 years.
The new “open door” policy will be based on a points system similar to a Canadian model and is intended to attract highly skilled and high-earning migrants to fill skills shortages.
Applicants using the new system, which begins next month, will be given points linked to their educational qualifications, work experience and past earnings.
It differs from the existing system under which an employer must obtain a permit for an individual which allows them to work in the country. There will be no limit on the number allowed to enter under the system announced yesterday.
The scheme, the first part of David Blunkett’s plan for managed migration, is to be followed next year by a similar one for low skilled migrants.
The high-skill initiative, which will be piloted for a year, was announced as a Home Office report was published showing a net inflow of 1.2 million people into the UK between 1981 and 1999.
Ann Widdecombe, the former Shadow Home Secretary, said that the scheme was “a recipe for poaching skills from poor countries” and was “profoundly immoral”.
The new “open door” policy will be based on a points system similar to a Canadian model and is intended to attract highly skilled and high-earning migrants to fill skills shortages.
Applicants using the new system, which begins next month, will be given points linked to their educational qualifications, work experience and past earnings.
It differs from the existing system under which an employer must obtain a permit for an individual which allows them to work in the country. There will be no limit on the number allowed to enter under the system announced yesterday.
The scheme, the first part of David Blunkett’s plan for managed migration, is to be followed next year by a similar one for low skilled migrants.
The high-skill initiative, which will be piloted for a year, was announced as a Home Office report was published showing a net inflow of 1.2 million people into the UK between 1981 and 1999.
Ann Widdecombe, the former Shadow Home Secretary, said that the scheme was “a recipe for poaching skills from poor countries” and was “profoundly immoral”.
