UK to let in 20,000 skilled Indians yearly bypassing government’s new immigration caps
February 20th, 2011 - 12:37 pm ICT by ANI
London, Feb 20 (ANI): Britain would reportedly allow thousands of Indians to enter the country every year under a European Union (EU) trade deal.
The multibillion-pound EU India Free Trade Agreement, which was initiated by former Trade Commissioner Lord Mandelson in 2007, and is expected to be signed by the end of June, will allow Indian workers, mostly skilled IT professionals, to bypass the Government’s new immigration caps, the Daily Express reports.
The paper also said that Britain is preparing to accept 20,000 skilled Indian workers every year, 40 per cent of the proposed quota for all 27 countries in the EU.
The proposed deal is a contrast to last year’s announcement made by Prime Minister David Cameron that Britain would put an annual restriction on at least 20,700 skilled non-EU workers.
The workers would reportedly enter via controversial “intra-company transfer visas” that allow foreign companies to send cheap homegrown labours to Britain for a maximum of five years.
Business Secretary Vince Cable had won a cabinet battle last November to ensure the visas were exempt from the Government’s new points-based immigration cap, the paper said.
Meanwhile, the free trade deal has been criticized by many analysts in Britain who think that it would “punch a huge hole in our immigration controls”.
Sir Andrew Green of campaign group Migration Watch said: “The negotiations over a trade agreement between the EU and India are threatening to punch a huge hole in our immigration controls. What is the point of the British government limiting economic migration to 20,000 a year and then letting in another 20,000 Indians?”
“Cable’s Business Department seem to be blind to the impact on British workers. With unemployment now close to two and a half million it is shameful that these negotiations should be so shrouded in secrecy,” he added.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has urged Cable to urgently clarify the impact on British jobs, adding: “We have long held concerns about intra-company transfers as employers do not have to make a business case for importing oversees staff or look to recruit in the UK first.”
About 30,000 intra-company transfer visas have reportedly been issued to Indian nationals in the past two years. (ANI)
- Britain to grant 20,000 visas to Indian workers annually - Feb 21, 2011
- European Union set to open doors to Indian migrants - Oct 26, 2010
- May offers no clarity about Indian IT workers in UK's 21,700 skilled migrants cap - Nov 24, 2010
- EU forces Britain to take in 12,000 Indian workers - Mar 02, 2012
- UK Tory party criticises Indian company transfers - Jan 05, 2010
- Britain may limit non-EU immigrants - Jan 21, 2011
- 'Fresh bid to stop Indian professionals from settling in Britain' - Aug 21, 2009
- Britain sets interim limit on non-EU migration (Lead) - Jun 29, 2010
- UK's new proposals to protect Brit workers may hit skilled Indian migrants - Feb 08, 2011
- EU-India "free trade agreement" will allow flood of Indian skilled workers into Britain - Oct 09, 2010
- Indian IT industry talks with US on visas - Jun 23, 2011
- Australia, Canada change immigration rules - Jun 28, 2010
- Highly-skilled migrants in UK ending up 'in fast food restaurant jobs' - Nov 06, 2010
- British government under pressure over non-EU migration - Jun 28, 2010
- US says it backs visas to qualified Indians - May 10, 2012
Tags: andrew green, british government, business department, campaign group, countries in the eu, david cameron, economic migration, free trade agreement, general secretary, intra company, last november, london feb, mandelson, minister david, new immigration, secrecy, sir andrew, trade commissioner, tuc, vince cable