Indian Professionals to Benefit From Post-Brexit Visa Strategy

Post-Brexit, EU citizens and those from India and elsewhere will be treated on par for purposes of migration.

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May speaks in the House of Commons in London, Monday, 12 March 2018.

(Photo: AP)

In what is being called the “biggest shake-up in 40 years” of the visa system, citizens from 27 European Union countries and those from India and elsewhere will be treated on par for purposes of migration after Brexit, according to a Hindustan Times report.

The new immigration strategy will focus on migrants’ skills rather than their country of origin.

It also removes any threshold on highly-skilled migrants from anywhere in the world and improves the post-study work offerings for international students, The Indian Express reported.

According to the Hindustan Times, the proposal outlined in the White Paper announced by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, includes a new visa route for skilled migrants and scrapping of the annual 20,700 limit for work permits. If all the processes of Brexit go well, they are expected to come into force from 2021.

Indian professionals, who in the year ending September 2018 were granted 55 percent of all Tier 2 (skilled) visas, are likely to be benefit from the new proposal. EU professionals and low-skilled workers will no longer have the automatic right to move and work in the UK after Brexit, according to the Hindustan Times.

“It will be a single, skills-based immigration system built around the talent and expertise people can bring, rather than where they come from — maximising the benefits of immigration and demonstrating the UK is open for business.”

Sajid Javid, Home Secretary 

The plans were broadly welcomed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which said the White Paper recognises the value offered by skilled workers from countries like India, according to The Indian Express.

The proposals will also ensure that there is no limit on the number of genuine international students, who can come to the UK to study. It also extends the time they can stay post-study to find employment to six months for those who have completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree and 12 months for those who have completed a PhD, Hindustan Times reported.

The Immigration and Social Security Coordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill which will be published on 20 December ends free movement for EU citizens and creates the legal framework for the future borders and immigration system.

According to the Hindustan Times, the new immigration and borders system will be implemented in a phased approach from 2021. Following that, an extensive 12-month programme of engagement with businesses, stakeholders and the public by the Home Office.