Report published on annual UK immigration limit

The government will consider the report's findings alongside the responses to the UK Border Agency's own consultations on the annual UK Visa cap that will come into effect in April 2011.
 
The MAC report advises that  in order for the Government to make progress towards meeting that objective, the total number of out-of-country Tier 1 and 2 visas issued next year needs to be between 37,400 and 43,700. This compares to 50,000 for 2009 and equates to a reduction in visas issued across the two tiers of between 13 and 25 per cent (6,300 and 12,600 visas).

The Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, David Metcalf, said: “It is not possible to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands by limiting work-related migration alone. The Committee assumes that work-related migration takes 20 per cent of the total cut – its fair share – which implies that family and student migration must take the other 80 per cent”.

The comitttie has also made a number of policy suggestions including:

• Favouring Tier 2 over Tier 1 to reduce the impact of the limits on
  business;
• Improving selectivity of Tiers 1 and 2 including raising the points
  thresholds for earnings and qualifications; and
• Reviewing whether explicit economic criteria should be applied to
  decisions on settlement in the UK.
  

UK  Immigration Minister Damian Green said: 'We thank the Migration Advisory Committee for their report, which we have analysed in great detail, and we will be announcing the details of our policy shortly.

“By introducing an annual limit, we will reduce the number of people who come to the UK 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.

The UK Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with their  UK immigration applications to the British High Commission.