Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Immigration will be reduced says Immigration Minister

Damian Green announced last week that the new government will introduce measures to ‘properly control immigration’ following figures released on 24 June which shows an increase in the UK population.

Responding to statistics which showed the population increased in 2008-09, the minister for immigration said the new government intends to reduce immigration numbers back to 1990s levels.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (new window) showed that the population of the UK was 61.8m in mid-2009, an increase of 394,000 on the previous year.

The report showed a total population increase of 2.7m compared with 2001.

'Far too high'

The new Minister for Immigration, who replaced Phil Woolas following the general election, said:

‘We believe that immigration has been far too high in recent years, which is why the new government will reduce net migration back down to the levels of the 1990s — to tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands.

‘Over the coming weeks and months the public will see us tackle this issue by introducing a wide range of new measures to ensure that immigration is properly controlled, including a limit on work permits, actions on marriage and an effective system of regulating the students who come here.’ Source: Home Office

There were several media reports last weekend that the coalition government had watered down its flagship ‘immigration cap’ election pledge after a cabinet revolt.

The BBC reports that the Business Secretary Vince Cable defended government plans for a temporary cap on migrant workers from outside the EU, but said it must be implemented in a “flexible way”.

The government has informed the media that it will announce a limit of 24,100 until April 2011 while the coalition consults on introducing a permanent cap.

Whilst Britain has been introducing measures to reduce immigration for the last few years, Canada is attracting the best migrants from both the developing world and the UK. See Why the world wants to be Canadian.

Related immigration articles:

Lib Dem defends temporary cap on non-EU migration

Immediate cap on non-EU migrant workers to be introduced by Home Office

Demographic shift ‘will cut UK growth’ according to ONS figures

Immigration cap ‘would damage hospitality sector’ say REC

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

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