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Britain is in the first year of its post-Brexit immigration system, with new data revealing how successful it has been so far. Previously, anyone from the EU could come to live, work and study in the UK without having to apply and give their work and education background. Those from outside the EU found it harder to apply to work, study or settle in the UK.
But now, under the new post-Brexit points system, Home Office immigration figures show a 25% increase in work-related visas granted compared to 2019 – the last full year before the coronavirus pandemic.
Less than a tenth of them were from EU migrants who needed to get a new visa from January 2021, showing how much non-EU migrants had turned to the UK.
Changes were also seen in the study visa program: applicants from Nigeria, Pakistan, India, the United States and China were among the top nationalities to be accepted on these visas. .
In 2019, only 8,384 Nigerian applicants were granted sponsored study visas, compared to 43,300 in 2021.
Immigration to the UK: Britain has attracted more skilled workers with its new post-Brexit rules (Image: GETTY)
Boris Johnson: New rules are more lenient than those proposed by former PM Theresa May (Image: GETTY)
This marked a 415% increase – the largest by far.
Pakistan, meanwhile, saw a 256% percentage increase from 2019 to 2021, from 4,927 accepted applicants to 17,533.
In India, 61,351 more people were accepted on sponsored study visas compared to 2019, an increase of 164%.
In contrast, 5% more US citizens were admitted to the program, while admission from China actually fell -0.1%.
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Sponsored study visas: the differences between people accepted on study visas outside the EU (Image: UK Government)
Skilled workers: job categories defined as ‘skilled’ in the UK have widened (Image: GETTY)
Other non-EU/EEA applicants accounted for 16% of accepted applicants.
It increased the total number of non-EU/EEA applicants by 44% compared to 2019, with the total number of applicants, including EU and EEA, increasing by 52%.
The points-based system – rolled out at the start of 2021 when the UK left the EU and modified amid the shortage of lorry drivers in September – has opened up half of all jobs in the UK to foreign workers, lowering wage and skill thresholds for migrants.
Previously, employers had to prove that a UK worker could not be recruited to fill a vacancy before recruiting from overseas.
But now, the number of professions eligible for skilled work visas has increased significantly.
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Study visas: the new scheme has also led to an increase in the number of non-EU students entering the UK (Image: GETTY)
Home Office: The Home Office is headed by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary (Image: GETTY)
These include job titles such as chef, bricklayer, electrician, welder, and health and care worker.
The government has also removed caps on most visa routes.
Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at King’s College London, told The Times the rise was a reflection of the “Brexit effect”.
He was quick to add, however, that Brexit was not the only driver of increased non-EU immigration, which also had Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s fairly liberal view on post-Brexit immigration.
He said: “It’s definitely Brexit. There was always this question of whether Brexit would lead to reduced immigration or change or a combination of both.
“Theresa May’s initial plan was essentially aimed at the first – to reduce immigration from the EU by ending free movement, while having only very limited increases in non-EU migration.
Bricklayer: The manual labor role has been included in the new list of skilled workers (Image: GETTY)
“The system we ended up putting in place is much more about change than reduction, because the new system is considerably less liberal for Europeans due to the end of free movement, but it is considerably more liberal on a certain number of dimensions for non-EU for work and student visas.
The introduction of the Skilled Worker Route in January 2021 saw a third more skilled migrants enter the UK than the previous restrictive Tier 2 visa it replaced.
A total of 150,000 additional people went through the skilled route, which accounts for the majority of work-related visas.
The vast majority of them were migrants from outside the EU.
Health care: people working in the health sector are now also considered skilled workers (Image: GETTY)
When it comes to work visas, like study visas, India, Pakistan, and Nigeria accounted for some of the highest inflows, while Filipinos also made a spot on the list.
The number of Nigerians granted skilled work visas increased by 161% between 2019 and 2020, an increase of 6,327 people.
Pakistan recorded a 62% increase, while the Philippines recorded a 53% increase from 2019 to 2021. India recorded a 14% increase.
The US, however, actually saw a 25% decrease in the number of nationals coming to work in the UK between 2019 and 2021 – largely due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The total of non-EU/EEA migrant workers entering Britain soared by 21%, while the total including those from the EU/EEA rose by 33%.
Skilled Work Visas: Skilled Work Criteria Have Expanded to a Range of New Industries (Image: UK Government)
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Source: www.express.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-04-20 09:35:00
