India may face trouble as British PM announces measures to tackle non-EU migration

London, June 11: British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced new measures to tackle non-European Union (EU) migration in Britain.

"A new blueprint is being drawn up to reduce demand for migrant labour - a crucial part of the government's plan to cut net migration, and make sure Britain's immigration system delivers for working people," Prime Minister David Cameron was quoted as saying on Wednesday during Prime Minister's Questions.

PM confirmed that the Home Secretary has written to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) asking it to advise on reducing work migration from outside the EU, while making sure Britain is open to the best talent that will help our country succeed.

The MAC has been told to see how to put up restrictions on the automatic right of Tier 2 dependants to work, tightening up on the intra company transferee (ICT) route, including applying the immigration health surcharge to ICTs and raising the minimum salary levels that economic migrants have to be paid.

Intra company transferee visa used mostly by Indian IT companies to transfer and post employees in Britain.

New measures like restricting work visas to genuine skills shortages and highly specialist experts, putting a time limit on how long a sector can claim to have a skills shortage, a new skills levy on Tier 2 visas to boost funding to UK apprenticeships and raising salary thresholds to stop businesses using foreign workers to undercut wages are likely to become effective by next year.

Cameron said, "This government is on the side of working people: in the past, it has been too easy for businesses to recruit from overseas, undermining those who want to work hard and do the right thing. As part of our one-nation approach, pushed forward by my Immigration Taskforce, we have asked the Migration Advisory Committee to advise on what more can be done to reduce levels of work migration from outside the EU."

OneIndia News