CaSE still holds Government accountable on immigration issues

CaSE has once again been highly active on immigration policy. Following our previous work around the arbitrary Tier 2 visa cap, the Government changed their policy so that those coming to work in the UK as a doctor or nurse were no longer subject to the cap.

This change was sparked by our Freedom of Information request on the scale of refusals by occupation which caught the attention of politicians and media alike in May. We submitted a second Freedom of Information request to the Home Office to understand the number of Tier 2 visa refusals since then.

We found that 8,180 visas were refused due to the cap from April to July. This means that over 14,250 visas were refused over the last eight months due to the cap. There are early signs that this policy change has made a difference – refusals greatly reduced in July, and in August the monthly cap was not reached for the first time in nine months. However, the scale of the refusals over this period demonstrates the damaging impact of having an arbitrary cap on numbers.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) this week published their report which analysed the effects that European migration has had on the UK. They concluded that high skilled migration has a positive effect on productivity, innovation and the provision of training in the UK. The MAC also concluded that no such cap should be placed on high-skilled migration and have called for the Tier 2 cap to be abolished. This is something that CaSE has been calling for over a number of years.

The MAC also concluded that should the UK and the EU not come to a reciprocal agreement on movement of people, it would be appropriate for the current visa system for non-EEA countries to be extended to encompass all migration with some amendments. We disagree. We believe that the UK can take this opportunity to create a new, high-tech digital migration system that could use the new system for settled status created for EU nationals as a starting point for a new system. This week we wrote to the Home Secretary on this matter and we will continue to advocate for a future immigration system that meets the needs of science and engineering.

James Tooze is Policy Officer at the Campaign for Science and Engineering