http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f3a22186-ad7e- ... e2340.html
UK’s new rules for migrants to favour high-fliers
By Andrew Taylor, Employment Correspondent
Published: March 7 2006 02:00 | Last updated: March 7 2006 02:00
A new points system to manage the flow of migrant workers more effectively will give preference to young high-fliers and employers with a good record of keeping track of foreign-born employees, the government will announce on Tuesday.
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The system, similar to those operating in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, will favour professionals and entrepreneurs. It will also offer the possibility of reducing the qualification period, from four to two years, before most sought after non-European Union professionals and entrepreneurs can apply for permanent UK residence.
The qualifying period before other groups of migrant workers will be allowed to apply for permanent residence is expected to be raised from four to five years.
Special quota systems allowing farmers to temporarily hire foreign workers for seasonal fruit picking and planting and also for the hotel and catering trades, are expected to be scrapped. A new skills advisory body, however, might be allowed to establish short-term quotas for these industries in special circumstances.
Ministers have argued that quota systems for sectors such as agriculture no longer require special status as these industries hire most of their temporary staff from eastern and central Europe.
Workers from these regions have had unrestricted access to British labour markets since their countries joined the EUin 2004.
Lobby groups representing overseas workers are likely to criticise plans to remove rights to appeal from foreigners refused access to the UK. Most of the applications from potential overseas workers will be expected to be handled by diplomatic posts overseas.
To encourage younger professionals and entrepreneurs ministers are expected to announce that extra points will be available for high-fliers under the age of 32. Current qualifications for "top-tier" migrants include a degree, five years' work experience and a salary of at least £40,000 in their last full year of employment.
Other groups of foreign workers wanting to come to the UK will need to be sponsored by an employer unless they are from EU countries.
Companies will be graded as either A or B category employers, depending upon their record on complying with migration regulations. This will include informing the Home Office of whether or not migrants actually arrived and when they ceased to be employed.
Workers joining employers with a good compliance record will qualify for extra points.
Workers in areas with greatest skill shortages applying to join a category A employer "will almost automatically be admitted", said Julia Onslow-Cole, a partner at City law firm CMS Cameron McKenna.
Ms Onslow-Cole welcomed the new proposals which she said would "reward employers for complying with good practice and discourage bad employers who will find it harder to attract and place foreign staff".
She also welcomed moves which would offer the possibility for young "potential entrepreneurs" to seek permanent residence after only two years.
"This could be a great magnet to attract such people to the UK to the benefit of the economy and society as a whole," Ms Onslow-Cole said.
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