Wealthy Indians who seek to reside in the U.K. could face a new visa levy should the Labour Party come to power. According to a draft version of the Labour manifesto that was leaked and published by a number of British media groups, including the BBC and ITV, a Labour government would introduce an “additional, proportionate contribution from residence visas for high net worth individual” towards a Migration Impact Fund for public services “under additional pressure in host communities”.
The party would also maintain an existing levy (a yearly £1,000 immigration skills charge on employers for every worker on a Tier 2 visa), which would also contribute towards the fund.
The draft manifesto provides insights into how the Labour would reform Britain’s immigration system should it come to power, an issue that will be of particular relevance to India. The manifesto is due to be published early next week after being discussed at a meeting on Thursday. In the draft document, the party states its commitment to “fair rules and reasonable management of migration”, and accuses the Conservative government of scapegoating migrants to divert away from “bogus promises” on immigration.
Net migration
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to stick to the target of bringing net migration to below 100,000 a year.
“Labour understands the historic contribution of immigrants and the children of immigrants to our society and economy,” the document reads, adding that the party would not make “false promises” on immigration numbers, suggesting that it would scrap immigration targets.
Among the changes the party would make to the immigration regime are to the minimum income rule, which means that a Briton hoping to bring a spouse to the U.K. from outside the EU has to earn at least £18,600 a year, with the figure rising for every child. The rule has been widely criticised by campaigners who argue it has left thousands of families divided and children in distress as a result of separation from a parent, as well as the creation of “Skype families” — who depended on technology to maintain contact with one parent.
“We do not believe family life should be protected only for the wealthy and so we promise to replace the income thresholds for family attachments with an obligation to survive without recourse to public funds,” the document reads. However, it doesn’t make a commitment to withdrawing the earning threshold more widely for workers.
Students are welcome
It also pledges to welcome international students though makes no specific commitments relating to policy on this issue, including removing them from net migration figures.
The draft manifesto entitled “For the many not the few” covers a wide range of areas such as plans to renationalise the railways and the postal system, abolish the tuition fees that students at English universities currently have to pay, renew the Trident submarine system, and raise taxes for the top 5% of earners.
On the issue of Brexit, the party said it accepted the referendum result but would not leave the union without a trade deal. It would scrap the government’s white paper on Brexit and replace it with new priorities, including retaining the benefits of the single market and customs union and a guarantee for the rights of EU citizens in Britain.
