UK to curb immigration

2005-02-07 14:13

London - Unskilled foreigners will find it harder to migrate to Britain under new proposals due to be announced on Monday that will also call for stricter screening of asylum seekers and tighter border controls.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair told BBC radio on Sunday that what Britain needs is "a set of rules that allow people to come in who the country needs, but have strict controls that actually work".

"Whether we should cut the number or increase it (the annual net inflow of people into Britain) depends on the country's need," he added.

The government has drawn up the five-year blueprint just three months before an expected general election in which immigration will be a major theme.

Britain currently lets in 140 000 to 150 000 new immigrants per year.

"I do not think we should have an arbitrary figure. I do not agree with the Conservative proposal for a quota," Blair said.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke was to announce details of the immigration system reforms on Monday.

"We will establish a system... which looks at the skills, talents, abilities of people seeking to come and work in this country, and ensures that when they come here they have a job and can contribute to the economy of the country," Clarke told the BBC on Sunday.

To this end, the government wants to establish a system by 2008 to conduct proper tests and fingerprinting of everybody who obtains a visa, Clarke said.

As for the question of asylum, the minister warned that a proper process must be installed to remove people who fail in their request for refuge.

"A very much larger number of people claim asylum than are in fact entitled to it," he said.

"As they come and claim asylum, we have to be sure that people can't falsely claim, can't come into the country when they ought not to be able to, and secondly if they appeal for asylum and are turned down, that they are then removed from the country."

In addition, the new proposals will call for identity cards for everybody who migrates to Britain while also offering new measures to crack down on people-trafficking.

Clarke's announcement follows recent tough proposals by the main opposition Conservative Party to put an absolute cap on immigration numbers, and to limit asylum seekers by withdrawing from the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees.

The Observer newspaper reported that under Monday's plan only "desirable" professionals, such as doctors and teachers, will be granted leave to remain permanently in Britain, and even then only if they pass English tests.

Others who come to Britain on work permits will not be able to apply to remain indefinitely, and will be forced to leave once their time in the country has run out.

The measures are not expected to affect citizens from other European Union countries who, under EU rules, are free to seek work and remain in Britain.

- AFP