UK tightens entry rules for labor migrants
In particular, to get a job in the UK, Tier 1 skilled workers will now need a master's degree instead of a bachelor's. Furthermore, according to the UK Border Agency, they will need to secure a minimum salary of £20,000 per year.
British authorities also intend to tighten requirements for Tier 2 skilled workers. A special government commission will consider the issue of granting such migrants jobs only in sectors where there is a shortage of personnel. If these measures are implemented, the number of Tier 2 skilled workers will drop from 80,000 to 20,000-40,000 per year.
As reported by Lenta.ru, all these measures apply only to immigrants from non-EU countries, where there is a single labor market space. Presenting the innovations, UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith explained that in a recession, immigration legislation should be revised to ensure British citizens have priority in obtaining jobs. In this regard, employers will be required to post job advertisements for Tier 2 specialists in local employment centers for at least two weeks.
The British labor market is estimated at around 30 million jobs. The number of foreign workers and specialists in the UK is 3.8 million people, and as The Daily Telegraph notes, this figure has increased by 1.8 million over the past ten years.
Amid the deepening economic crisis and rising unemployment, British trade unions are demanding that citizens be given priority in obtaining work. The opposition Conservatives also criticize what they see as an overly liberal system for foreigners to get jobs in the UK, proposing to replace the existing points-based system with quotas for labor migrants.