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Press Releases for August 2003
August 25, 2003
Radical scheme change opens 'Back Door to Britain'...
Radical government changes to the hitherto successful 'Working Holiday Makers scheme,' are opening a new and completely uncontrolled 'back door to Britain'.
August 17, 2003
Migration from 'New European EU Members' grossly understated, says report…
Full Text of Releases : August 2003
Radical scheme change opens 'Back Door to Britain'... Radical government changes to the hitherto successful 'Working Holiday Makers scheme,' are opening a new and completely uncontrolled 'back door to Britain'.
The old scheme has generally been a success. It permitted applicants, mainly (but not exclusively) from the old Commonwealth, to have some experience of Britain and to contribute to our economy.
They were allowed to work in non-professional jobs provided it was "incidental to their holiday". In practice, the limit was up to 50% of their time here and for a maximum of two years after which they were obliged to leave. They amounted to about 40,000 a year and the vast majority returned home since they came from countries at about the same economic level as Britain.'
The new scheme, which comes into effect on 25 August, keeps the name but is otherwise entirely different. Under the new arrangements," working holidaymakers" will be allowed to take up work in any sector, work full time, move freely between employers and switch to work permits after just twelve months. The upper age limit is raised from 27 to 30. Work Permits are valid for up to five years and entitle the holder to bring in dependants immediately and, after four years, to apply for settlement. In recent years 95% of such applications have been granted.
Neither the old nor the new scheme has a limit to the number admitted. The changes are designed to encourage applicants from the new Commonwealth countries but these students, given the economic disparities, are much less likely to return home.
There are neither health checks before they come or checks on their departure from Britain.
'This scheme is wide open to exploitation`, said Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of MigrationwatchUK. `It amounts to an unlimited and uncontrolled work permit scheme which, initially, does not even require an application from an employer, still less any evidence of a shortage of British workers.
'Anyone in the entire Commonwealth who can assemble funds for two months expenses in Britain can apply for one of these visas and then disappear as soon as he arrives. If detected, he can claim asylum and live for a year or two at the taxpayers` expense while the legal machinery grinds on.
'The changes in fact alter the whole nature of the scheme and amount to an uncontrolled back door to Britain,' said Sir Andrew.
'It is impossible to understand the government's logic. On the one hand they are making great efforts to reduce the number of asylum seekers. On the other, they are opening a back door to economic migrants on a substantial scale.The implementation of any such scheme should be delayed until the Government have restored control over our borders,' he said.
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Migration from 'New European EU Members' grossly understated, says report…
Annual immigration to the UK from the new Eastern European members
of the EU could be as much as four times higher than the Government's estimate claims a new report out today. See full report. The Government's handling of immigration is described as 'deeply worrying'.
The Home Office estimate that between 5,000 - 13,000 immigrants per year will enter Britain when these countries become members of the EU in May next year, but, says think tank Migrationwatch, the number is likely to be closer to 40,000 a year - with a huge unknown in relation to the 1.6m Roma population of these countries.
'The Government's top estimate of 13,000 is even less than the
number of people from these countries (about 20,000) who attempted
to enter Britain
in 2001,' said Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch.
'When you factor in that we are the only major EU country to open our labour market from the day of accession, and look closely at the way they have compiled the figures, their estimate is simply not credible.'
Migrationwatch found six reasons for doubting the reports conclusions.
- the statistical methods used
- all other major EU economies have decided to impose a transition period on labour migration for up to seven years. The report took no account of this
- access to full social security benefits, free education and health
care will
be provided on arrival for those who come to take residence. This
was also ignored
- there a number of minorities in Eastern Europe who consider themselves to be persecuted - in particular the Roma, who alone number some 1.6m in the accession countries
- the 'hidden' unemployment within Poland's agricultural sector
- recent experience of the numbers who have already attempted
to enter Britain.
In respect of the Roma, one of a number of minorities who consider
themselves persecuted, about 1.6m live in Hungary, Slovakia and
the Czech Republic. Some have already sought asylum in Britain.
Others have arrived illegally. In response, the British Government
introduced special measures
at Prague Airport to cut off the flow. These remain in force today
but will end on accession.
As from May 2004 all citizens of these countries will have immediate right of entry, residence, work and benefits in Britain.
Professor Mervyn Stone, Professor of Statistics at UCL and a member of the Advisory Council of Migrationwatch, said of the Government forecasts: 'They are found to be nothing other than matters of lay judgement that can be made without appeal to mathematical or econometric expertise'.
Commenting further, Sir Andrew said 'The Government's handling
of immigration policy is deeply worrying. They seem to have stumbled
into massive levels of immigration, completely disregarding the
views of 80%
of the electorate who wish to see much tighter immigration control.
'With nearly 9 out of 10 asylum seekers staying on in Britain,
the majority of them illegally and with no check on the departure
of visitors and students,
the Government have effectively lost control of our borders. Despite
this and despite the major uncertainties arising from the eastward
expansion of the EU, the Government have made a massive increase
in the issue of work permits and have loosened the conditions of
other schemes without putting in place any checks on departure.
'They have thus set in train inward flows of people on a scale
unknown in
our history - without any apparent thought for the consequences.
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