UK’s crackdown on immigration, to hit Indians

The UK has announced to further its crackdown on immigration through “work and study routes” from non-EU nations, in a move expected to make it difficult for British firms to hire professionals from countries like India.

Regarding this, Home Secretary Amber Rudd told the annual Conservative Party conference in Birmingham that, she will analyze at a range of options to cut migration.

“Leaving the EU is just one part of the strategy. We have to look at all sources of immigration if we mean business…We will be looking across work and study routes. This will include examining whether we should tighten the test companies have to take before recruiting from abroad,” Rudd said.

If the new rules come into implementation, the British companies will find it tough to bring in foreign professionals from outside the EU, including countries like India.

“The test should ensure people coming here are filling gaps in the labour market, not taking jobs British people could do. But it’s become a tick box exercise, allowing some firms to get away with not training local people.

“We won’t win in the world if we don’t do more to upskill our own workforce… I want us to look again at whether our immigration system provides the right incentives for businesses to invest in British workers,” she said.

Adding to it, she even announced that from December, landlords who rent out property to people who lost right to be in the UK, will be considered as criminal offenders and could go to prison. For those willing to get a license to drive a taxi, should produce the immigration checks. 

Even the banks should be away from providing essential banking services from next year to illegal migrants. The new rule is going to show a big impact on the Indian students, who are willing to study in the UK.  

“We will also look for the first time at whether our student immigration rules should be tailored to the quality of the course and the quality of the educational institution… We need to look at whether this one size fits all approach really is right for the hundreds of different universities, providing thousands of different courses across the country,” the minister said.

The new rules, however, would come into implementation after the prior consultation with businesses and universities, she added.

“This isn’t about pulling up the drawbridge. It’s about making sure students that come here, come to study. We’re consulting because we want to work with businesses and universities to get this next stage of our reforms right,” Rudd said.

Coming to the migration within the EU, Rudd unveiled the plans to overhaul legislation to make it easier to deport criminals and those who abuse UK laws while Britain negotiates its complete exit from the economic bloc.