Tougher immigrant rules evoke mixed responses in Britain

Mixed responses were prompted as the British Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published a new report Wednesday on the points-based system on immigrants.

Would-be immigrants from outside the European Union are already subject to a points-based system, which permits access to Britain only if they have skills needed by the British economy.

The MAC said in the report that immigration plays an important role in supporting the British economy and recommended that the earnings thresholds for gaining points should be raised, jobs advertised within Britain for longer, and the arrangements for intra-company transfers strengthened.

MAC Chairman David Metcalf said: "It is important that British workers are not displaced. We have therefore made a number of recommendations which will help to avoid undercutting and any disincentives to raise the skills of British workers."

According to the report, the tighter immigrant policy is well designed for achieving its economic aims and for encouraging immigration to adjust to changing demand over the economic cycle. The MAC did not consider that it needs to be substantially revised in light of the economic recession.

Responding to the report's publication, British Home Office Minister Alan West said the British government's points-based system has proven itself to be a powerful and flexible tool in meeting the needs of the British workforce and business in these changing economic times.

"From the outset we demonstrated that flexibility by putting a stop to low-skilled labor entering Britain from outside Europe. In light of the economic downturn we have taken further steps to be more selective of migrants that come to Britain and to give resident workers every opportunity to fill vacancies," said West.

The MAC has delivered a robust and thorough report, and the British government will consider it carefully over the coming weeks, West added.

However, some analysts criticized that the British government rushed the immigrant policy into existence for political reasons, saying that the rigid approach was primarily aimed at soothing the electorate's fears on competition for jobs from overseas workers.

The Office for National Statistics reported that Britain's unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in the second quarter this year, up 0.7 percent over the previous three months and up 2.4 percent year on year.

Local media reported that there have been delays in visa approvals for some businesses appointing overseas employees to positions in Britain and bottlenecks in graduate recruitment, internships and training schemes.

The British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline and big investment banks such as Morgan Stanley also expressed concerns over London's standing as a global business center.

There were worries that Britain's biggest retailer Tesco would not be able to bring managers from Asia to its training centers in Britain.

Earlier this month, the British government also carried out a consultation on the new citizenship proposals, which "require people to earn points for, among other things, their skills, their job and their qualifications." And only those with enough points will earn the right to a British passport.