The Government has just published its Immigration White Paper. It sets out proposals for the design of a new immigration system post-Brexit. The key elements are:

  • A skilled workers? route open to all nationalities;
  • A lowering of the skills threshold on the skilled workers route to include medium-skilled workers (to RQF 3-5, equivalent to A-Levels), with a retention of the ?30K salary threshold. Businesses will be consulted on this ? in parallel to the ongoing review of the Shortage Occupations List being conducted by the Migration Advisory Committee;
  • No cap on numbers on the skilled workers route, meaning that business will be able to hire any suitably qualified migrant;
  • The abolition of the resident labour market test;
  • A new ?transitional? time-limited route for temporary short-term workers of all skill levels, including seasonal low-skilled workers, which will allow workers to come to the UK for a maximum of 12 months, with a subsequent 12 month ?cooling off? period (this will also be subject to consultation). This route will only be open to workers from a limited number of ?low risk? countries;
  • An extension to the post-study period for all international students.

A link to the full document is provided here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-future-skills-based-immigration-system