Immigrants Do Not Impact UK Economy

April 1, 2008 - PRLog -- The report was put together over a period of eight months by The Lords Economic Affairs Committee which is made up of two ex-chancellors and other Cabinet members, to review government immigration and visa policies.

“…We have found no evidence for the argument, made by the Government, business and many others, that net immigration—immigration minus emigration— generates significant economic benefits for the existing UK population.”

Minister Liam Byrne stated that migration has added £6bn to the economy and a points system is preferable to a cap.

The findings from the committee declare that different types of immigrants can have very different impacts on the economy. “The issue is not whether immigration is needed but what level and type of immigration is desirable. In this context, net immigration from the EU—which we expect to remain positive—cannot be controlled. The question then is whether additional immigration from elsewhere carries benefits or disadvantages”. Are the House of Lords stating that immigration is not beneficial to the country?

When asked If he believes the House of Lords has it right, Liam Clifford an ex Immigration Official and now Director of www.globalvisas.coma said “I believe the Lords have taken a blinkered view of the immigration issue.  With an aging population in the UK many employers who can not afford training schemes in house do benefit from skilled overseas employees”.

“We recently conducted a survey and it showed that less than 10% of all UK employers knew about the new Immigration sponsorship immigration rules, said Clifford. Last year we reported over 400,000 asylum seekers we going to be granted residency as their case was never resolved due to lack of resources and today we can announce in the Autumn only the first 60,000 employers will be able to apply for a licence to employ overseas nationals without facing similar issues due to lack of planning and resources

The committee also mentioned that there is a possibility of cutting the rights of people to follow relatives who have settled in the UK. And they rejected claims by ministers that a high level of immigration was needed to prevent labour shortages as "fundamentally flawed".

Mr Clifford of www.globalvisas.com puts the responsibility for all the immigration chaos on the Border of Immigration Agency.

Inquiry chairman Lord Wakeham said: "Looking to the future, if you have got that increase in numbers and you haven't got any economic benefit from it, you have got to ask yourself, is that a wise thing to do?”That is why we want the government to look at it."

Committee chairman Lord Vallance of Tummel, a former CBI president, said
"The key question we have got to answer is how do we make sure we only get the skills we need in this country and no more? That's why we need the points system," he told the BBC.

He said newcomers would also be asked to contribute "a little bit extra" to public services before they became British citizens and unskilled workers from outside the EU would be banned.

Clifford passionately stated “rather than asking defunct questions in the middle of globalization revolution the House of Lords might be better of asking questions about how to improve the situation.  What would the UK be like tomorrow if we were remove all overseas workers from our economy?  Simply it would grind to an abrupt halt so how can they be deemed as anything but essential.

Tier 1 visa was recently launched under the new Point based System which is the new immigration and visa service and it is divided into five tiers. The report questioned if the PBS will help reduce foreign immigration within the country. "It is not clear whether the new system will in fact constitute the radical overhaul of the UK's immigration system suggested by the government."

Early this year the internationally acclaimed research group, Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also released a data report on more Britons leaving the country for overseas causing what is known as “Brain Drain” in the UK. Brits are apparently lured by a better standard of life, high salaries and the weather to places like Australia and New Zealand.

“There are over 600 people everyday emigrating from the UK and that figure is set to soar in the coming years, someone needs to take their jobs over”, affirmed Clifford.

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Global Visas was founded more than a decade ago with a mission to take the stress out of immigration. Created by a former Immigration Official who witnessed the difficulties facing individuals and organizations alike, Global Visas was established to help clients navigate the complexities of immigration and visa law.

Website: www.globalvisas.com