Post-Brexit, UK to treat Indian, EU citizens on par for visas

December 19, 2018 19:51

Citizens from 27 European Union countries and those from India and elsewhere will be treated on par for purposes of migration after Brexit, the Theresa May government announced on Wednesday in what is being billed as the biggest shake-up in 40 years of the visa system.

A new visa route for skilled migrants and scrapping of the annual 20,700 limit for work permits are among proposals outlined in a white paper announced by home secretary Sajid Javid. They will come into force from 2021, if all processes of Brexit are completed.

The proposals are likely to benefit Indian professionals, who in the year ending September 2018 were granted 55 per cent of all Tier 2 (skilled) visas. EU professionals and low-skilled workers will no longer have the automatic right to move and work in the UK after Brexit.

Focussing on skills rather than on a prospective migrants country of origin, Javid said: Immigration is good for our country. It has made us stronger in countless ways. I am a second-generation migrant myself and if I look at people such as my parents I can see how they have helped this country in so many ways.

The ability of EU citizens to move seamlessly to the UK will end on March 29, 2019, Javid said, even if there is a deal or no deal. The plans, he said, will deliver on the clear instruction to get control over our borders and will bring in a new system that works in our interest.

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