For Indian professionals wishing to migrate to Britain, there was more bad news on Thursday after a high-level committee recommended a significant reduction in immigration levels from non-European Union countries.
Rules for student and family visas are also likely to be tightened as the Government prepares to impose an annual cap on non-EU immigration from next April.
The Migration Advisory Committee, whose report would help the Government in setting up the cap, recommended a cut of between 13 per cent to 25 per cent for next year but warned that even this would not be enough for the Government to meet its target of reducing net immigration from ``hundreds of thousands’’ to ``tens of thousands’’.
Pointing out that its proposals would contribute only 20 per cent to the Government’s target, the Committee said that the remaining 80 per cent would have to come from further reductions in student and family visas. Immigration minister Damian Green said the Government would announce a decision on the cap level "shortly" indicating that the axe was likely to fall on more than one category of immigrants.
"Bringing down net migration to sustainable levels will not be easy. We will not be able to achieve it by focusing on just one area of the system or on one route into Britain. By introducing an annual limit we will reduce the number of people who come to the U.K. to work from outside the EU. But this is just one of the ways we intend to reduce the level of net migration
back down to the tens of thousands each year," he said.
There is widespread opposition to an arbitrary limit with leading British businesses arguing that it would make it difficult for them to recruit the best talent from around the world and affect their competiveness in an increasingly global market. Universities and research institutions have also opposed the move and many countries, including India, have warned that the measure would adversely affect their trade and business relations with Britain.
The Government itself is divided on the issue with the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable openly campaigning against it.
