UK immigration outlined by the new government’s five-year plan

The Coalition government has announced its five-year plan for partnership government, outlining a programme that includes Royal Mail privatisation, a major education shake-up, a welfare crackdown and a cap on UK immigration.

The plan states that the Government believes UK immigration has enriched our culture and strengthened our economy, but that it must be controlled so that people have confidence in the system.

“We also recognise that to ensure cohesion and protect our public services, we need to introduce a cap on immigration and reduce the number of non-EU immigrants,” the report stated.

The Coalition will introduce an annual limit on the number of non-EU economic migrants admitted into the UK to live and work, with both parties considering jointly the mechanism for implementing the limit.

Other changes include:

The end of the detention of children for immigration purposes;
Creating a dedicated Border Police Force, as part of a refocused Serious Organised Crime Agency, to enhance national security, improve immigration controls and crack down on serious crime;
Support for E-borders and a reintroduction of exit checks;
The application of transitional controls as a matter of course in the future for all new EU Member States;
The introduction of new measures to minimise abuse of the UK immigration system, for example via student routes, and will tackle human trafficking as a priority.
The exploration of ways to improve the current asylum system to speed up the processing of applications.

The UK Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodging their applications for a UK visa with the British Embassy.