The Migration Advisory Committee, which advises the government on immigration policy, recommended that intra-company transfer (ICT) visas lead to settlement and with no English language requirement. It’s yet another sop to big business and multinational conglomerates as well as a kick in the teeth for our young people, especially young IT graduates. What is more, we are not talking small numbers, these visas ran at 55,000 per year between 2011 and 2019 for main applicants and dependants. It’s another staggering loosening of the system. When will it end? We commented here, and sent the MAC evidence (here). See a summary of the main points below:
- This visa has helped to undercut and displace countless numbers of British IT workers over the years while undermining our IT skills base
- This visa does not even require applicants to speak English (harming integration)
- There is no rule requiring employers to check the local labour market before bringing someone from overseas
- It offers companies tax breaks to hire non-UK workers when they should invest in UK talent
- This visa is meant to be temporary, but (adding insult to injury) the MAC wants those coming here to be able to settle permanently – further driving up already-high immigration
- The MAC itself admits those coming with large families can require large public expenditure, particularly for education. Visas will be granted to those who are a considerable fiscal cost. The government should ensure each grantee pays their way.
The scandal on the Channel continues – 1,600 people broke into Britain in small boats (with Border Force acting as a taxi service) in just the first two weeks of October. With the numbers well in excess of 18,500 people for 2021 so far (see our Channel Tracker for the latest), it has become clear that the government has neither the competence nor the will or desire to stop the illegal crossings. But fear not, we have every intention of staying on the case, and with your help we intend to prevail against the open borders industry with our policy proposals.
Blog of the week
Staffing The Health Service Requires Training Not Immigration
Britain’s health service hoovers in foreign-trained medical staff from poorer places in disproportionate numbers compared to other European countries. This despite the fact that tens of thousands of British-born, qualified nursing applicants are rejected for training places every year (see our analysis of this). Immigration is the easy option that allows the papering over huge failures of workforce planning and to avoid investing in decent pay and working conditions for home-grown talent. This is one of the most egregious examples of the way mass immigration is used to keep costs down while punishing UK workers and students. No wonder they don’t like it when we point this out; such policies may be very convenient but they also harm the UK. Read the full blog here.
Migration Watch in the news
This week, our Chairman Alp Mehmet took part in a televised debate about immigration (chaired by Trevor Phillips) on Sky News. You can watch the full debate here. He also commented on the week’s news below:
Telegraph: People smugglers deploying bigger boats to combat rougher autumn seas
‘Larger boats and greater overload makes turning them back even more precarious. Detaining and returning migrants crossing illegally is the only answer. The French must stop playing games and be made to see sense.’
Talk Radio: Will the illegal crossings ever end…?
‘It’s nonsense that we are paying tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to France for a job they should be doing.’
GB News: Why should we pay the French to protect their own border?
‘The solution is relatively easy. All those who seek to get across illegally, or make it across illegally, should be held in secure accommodation, they should be having their cases dealt with quickly, and those who don’t qualify for Leave, or entry or asylum if that is what they are asking for, should be returned.’
‘They are coming from a safe country [France] and that country is doing absolutely nothing to help them stay in that country.’
See also Alp’s appearance on GB News to discuss record low birth rates and high levels of mass immigration.
Make your voice heard
It is vital to fight back against the spin and distortion around mass immigration. We are totally committed to ensuring you have the facts, and we will continue to provide accurate research and analysis, no matter how inconvenient the truth is to some people and the comfortable corporate world. We regard the fruits of our research and analyses as tools that we place in your hands of the public. We only ask that if you can, you write to your MP. Mass immigration need not continue, and you can do something about the wayward policies by making your voice heard.