UK Immigration Of EU Residents Have Reached Peak, Says Data

 

The United Kingdom has been receiving quite a hefty amount of immigrants in the past years. Immigration in the country has been especially quite helpful to the country in terms of labor and workforce. Although this might be so, there have been individuals and groups who are not happy with immigration in the country. For them, immigration numbers are too much for the country.

If this is the main issue that these individuals and groups may have, it would be interesting to let them know about how things are seemingly about to change. See, according to experts on immigration in the UK, a peak has already been reached and so this means that those who may be against it just may have to start looking at immigration with new eyes.

What the signs are telling about immigration

According to Theresa May, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the numbers of immigration in the country have just told them that immigration has already reached its peak. This is in reference to the number of workers from the European Union who have decided to move to the country.

The Resolution Foundation, one of the think tanks in the country, has recently published an analysis on the data on immigration in the UK. This study has been done using official data from the country. The study also disclosed that since the referendum that has been recently done, a plateau has already been reached by immigrants from the European Union.

This has also been backed up with data that came from a survey on the Labour Force which has been done by the country’s Office for National Statistics (or ONS). The survey also disclosed the same information as that of the study from the Resolution Foundation which shows immigration peaking for EU workers.

Analysis of the data

After being not at ease with immigration in the country, those who are against it now can look at immigration in the United Kingdom in a different way. In an interview, Stephen Clarke, one of the top analysts with the Resolution Foundation, has declared that there will be shift and it is going to happen soon enough. He continued that with the data from various sources showing such, it will not be surprising if changes happen soon enough. After all, all sources show a plateau in the immigration of EU immigrants and that means something.

It is business owners who are not happy about this change. For them, immigration is a big help especially to them as they employ immigrants to work for their businesses. And with the plateau happening, it could mean having to find a lot less individuals who are willing to do the jobs needed to be done.

 

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Jeremy Corbyn Aims To Curb UK Immigration Restrictions Post-Brexit

You can definitely count on Jeremy Corbyn to stand up against restrictions on UK immigration after Brexit. Corbyn, as the leader of UK’s Labour Party, has been outspoken when it comes to this. Though he has received a number of jeers on his stand, he continues to address the country saying that he will not back any restrictions on immigration to the UK.

In his speech during the Annual Party Conference of the Labour Party, Corbyn has stated that these immigration restrictions would curb limit free movement of the labor force and that could make “Britons pay the price in tit-for-tat retaliation”. The Annual Conference was held in Liverpool.

Bringing back the public’s trust in immigration

For Corbyn, he strongly believes that to be able to bring back the public’s trust when it comes to immigration, what is needed is organization and harmonization of the working conditions and the wages all across the continent. Putting a restraint on free movement would not be able to solve the issue at hand.

The Labour Party head also engaged in a number of TV interviews. During those interviews, he declared that he sees all migrant workers of Europe having a huge contribution to the country in terms of health service, the educational system, and all other services for the public. This is a big deal and it should be given the proper acknowledgement.

Restrictions to UK immigration would not give such worthwhile contributions justice.

No immigration restrictions for the UK

Under the Labour Government of Tony Blair, European Union workers were able to easily move to the UK. This was in 2004. Most of the members of the EU had already put restrictions on immigration for all new member countries.

It was only the UK, Sweden, and Ireland which did not follow such a trend in the EU. They allowed for immigration and no restrictions were put in place.

This was in 2004 and the UK experienced a high number of immigrants than what was expected. These immigrants came from the new members of the EU that year and were from Eastern Europe. Poland had the most number of immigrants.

Corbyn’s alternative

Corbyn’s analysis on the stricter immigration rules would be harmful for Britons if implemented. He says that these would make all Brits have a difficult time if they wanted to travel anywhere in the continent for leisure or for study.

That is why he has an alternative to restraining the free movement of individuals. He has a plan and that plan is to encourage Europe to have equal wages and working conditions. With an equal footing in all countries, people would have easier movement across the continent. How he is going to do this, he has not disclosed yet but it does sound like a good plan.

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Brexit campaigners draft Australian-style UK immigration policy



Leading Brexit campaigners have drafted plans for an Australian-style, points-based immigration system, should the UK public vote to leave the European Union (EU). A referendum will be held in Britain on 23 June to enable voters to decide whether to remain in the EU or 'Brexit'- the name given if Britain leaves the EU.

However, it's worth pointing out that the UK immigration system currently operates a points-based system which includes various tiers including the Tier 2 visa and Tier 1 visa tier. It's unclear exactly how the 'new' points-based system will differ from the current one. What we can tell you is that the right to enter the UK will be based on 'skills,' according to a report published by the Huffington Post.

A joint statement from Brexit supporters, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Priti Patel, and Gisela Stuart outlined plans for a UK immigration system that would 'mark the end of the automatic right of EU citizens to come and live and work in the UK.

The statement said: "By the next general election, we will create a genuine Australian-style points-based immigration system. The automatic right of all EU citizens to come to live and work in the UK will end, as will EU control over vital aspects of our social security system.

EU citizens will be subject to legislation made by those we elect in Westminster, not in Brussels. We could then create fairness between EU citizens and others, including those from Commonwealth countries."

There have been record increases in UK immigration because the UK economy is doing well and is actually doing much better than much of the EU. High levels of immigration to the UK is a sign of success. People want to come to the UK because there are more jobs in the UK. The Telegraph has recently commented that David Cameron has "unleashed this job-creating beast of an economy".

Immigration has been a major issue in the European Union Referendum campaign. if Britain chooses to leave the EU there may be lower levels of immigration, but the economy is likely to suffer. Perhaps that is a price that people will be prepared to pay. We will see on 23 June 2016.

The 'new' UK Immigration points-based system

Under the 'new' UK immigration system, applicants seeking to live and work in the UK would be assessed based on their skills and qualifications 'without discrimination on the grounds of nationality.'

The statement said: "To gain the right to work, economic migrants will have to be suitable for the job in question. For relevant jobs, we will be able to ensure that all those who come have the ability to speak good English. Such a system can be much less bureaucratic and much simpler than the existing system for non-EU citizens."

UK immigration has been a key focus of the 'Leave' and 'Remain' referendum campaigns, and with less than two weeks to go until voters take to the polls, the Leave campaign has finally unveiled its blueprint for controlling UK borders in the aftermath of an EU exit.

77,000 EU migrants entered Britain in 2015

According to the Brexit campaign statement, around 77,000 EU migrants arrived in the UK in 2015. The statement also claimed voting to Remain in the EU and continuing to allow free movement in the UK would cause problems for the UK. The "Leave" campaign says that staying in the EU would affect school class sizes, wages, public services, the NHS and the security of the UK.

Brexit campaigners mentioned the 'ongoing tragedies in the Mediterranean' as a demonstration of how badly the EU is struggling to cope with mass migration and freedom of movement.

The statement said: "Should the UK remain in the European Union, migration and the Mediterranean death toll is only going to worsen as immigrants attempt to reach Britain."

Additionally, Johnson, Gove, Patel and Stuart were quick to make reference to the Conservative Party's election pledge to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, a commitment the government has fallen well short of. Johnson, Gove, Patel and Stuart said that the failure to meet this pledge is evidence alone highlighting the need for change.

"This promise is plainly not achievable as long as the UK is a member of the EU and the failure to keep it is corrosive of public trust in politics," said Johnson, Gove, Patel and Stuart.

Safer, more humane UK immigration policy according to Brexit Campaign

The four are of the opinion that should the UK back exiting the EU, 'a new, safer and more humane immigration policy should be implemented as swiftly as possible.' The four believe that such plans would be 'widely accepted by British society.'

The new immigration policy wouldn't affect Irish nationals or EU citizens who are already lawfully resident in the UK. Those EU citizens legally in the UK will be granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK automatically under the new system.

However, legal changes would be put in place to make it easier to deport criminals and other persons 'whose presence in the UK is not in the best interests of the UK public,' according to the statement.

The Brexit immigration policy would mean that the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights to UK law would no longer apply to UK Law. Johnson, Gove, Patel and Stuart said: "A combination of these measures would allow, 'for the first time in a generation', politicians to 'keep their promises on migration'."

"We will welcome new citizens who wish to contribute to our society, as so many immigrants have done and we will be able to remove those who abuse our hospitality," they said.

Remain campaign criticises Leave campaign's announcement on immigration

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Remain contingent criticised the Brexit immigration policy. The executive director of Britain Stronger in Europe, Will Straw, said: "The proposed points-based system could lead to higher levels of immigration. This system will not work. Vote Leave's proposal could put up immigration and it would wreck our economy, as it involves leaving Europe's Single Market."

"Australia, who have a points based immigration system, have twice as many migrants per head as the UK. Economic experts are agreed that leaving the Single Market would lead to recession - costing jobs and raising prices," Straw added.

Comments from Anti-Immigrant Migration Watch UK

Even the anti-immigrant, group, Migration Watch UK – which campaigns for stricter limits on immigration to the UK - said in a 2014 press release that an Australian-style points system would be 'totally unsuitable' for Britain.

In response to Vote Leave's proposed immigration policy, Migration Watch UK stated that a 'work permit for all migrants would be simpler and less bureaucratic, resulting in a reduction in migration numbers.'

Chairman of Migration Watch, Lord Green, said: "Work permits for all, EU and non-EU, is the way forward. This would preserve access to the skills our economy needs while reducing the population pressures which are simply getting out of hand."

Australian immigration system

Australia has become notorious for its tough stance on immigration and has been criticised for locking up refugees for long periods of time. According to the Huffington Post, Australia operates a "hybrid" selection system for skilled migrants that includes both a points-based system and employer sponsorship options.

The country is also known to detain migrants in detention centres should they overstay their visa, violate their visa conditions or remain despite having their visa cancelled. They even detain those refused entry at Australia's various ports.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in United Kingdom and Australia. Please visit our UK and Australian pages for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/uk.html and http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Mapped: How Britain has the most university educated migrants in the EU

Immigrants in Britain are better educated than the natives, official statistics reveal, with more than half of all foreign-born residents in the UK educated to degree level.

This is the highest proportion in Europe, with Ireland having the next highest share - at 44 per cent.

Of the total UK population, less than one in three people went through higher education, which ranks us seventh in Europe.

Of the 35 regions with the highest share of university-educated foreign residents, only two are from outside of the UK - the Bulgarian region hosting the capital, Sofia, and the Romanian capital of Bucharest.

Britain has all of the top fifteen, according to figures released by Eurostat for 2011, the last year for which data is available.



Four of the top five regions are in Scotland, with North Eastern Scotland, hosting the oil city of Aberdeen, topping the list. More than four in five foreign-born residents there have received higher education.

Among the other major players in the EU, Britain is the only one where the migrants are better educated than the locals.



The figures are interesting as immigration dominates the debate about Britain's EU membership. 

Many people who are unhappy about current levels of immigration are concerned about what they see as the arrival of low-skilled migrants.

Leave campaigners argue that net migration to the UK - currently standing at 330,000 per year - needs to be reduced.

They have stated preferences for an "Australian-style points system" to reduce low-skilled European migration that they say is draining public services and forcing down wages for the lowest paid jobs.



Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, suggests that the reality is that many migrants are highly-qualified but struggle to find jobs that match their skills.

"It remains difficult for foreign-born residents to convert their educational attainment into occupations typically associated with higher qualifications," they said, adding "a considerable proportion of foreign-born residents may be overqualified in their jobs".

Saira Grant is Chief Executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), which ran the 'I am an immigrant' campaign to celebrate immigrants' contribution to society. She responded to the findings:

"This confirms that EU migrants are in the main highly skilled and an asset to our economy. They have helped our economic recovery and we should recognise that their skills are vital to our health service and many other industries.

"In or out of the EU, we will still need foreign workers to fill skill gaps."

At the other end of the spectrum, 95 local areas in Europe - a third of the 280 areas mapped - have no foreign-born people who have received no education, according to Eurostat.



All of these regions are in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden and the UK.

France and Spain have the highest proportion of uneducated migrants, though their statistics are skewed somewhat by dominions in South America and Morocco, not shown on the map, which have higher levels than all of mainland Europe.

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Latest UK labour statistics indicate rise in immigration

The latest figures from the UK's Office for National Statistics show that the number of foreign-born workers in the UK labour force grew by 170,000 between April and June this year. The number of UK-born workers rose by only 40,000.


The figures were released on 13th August. They show that the total number of workers in the UK's work force climbed to 30,537,000 from 30,431,000 between April and June. Of these, 25,813,000 were British-born and 4,724,000 were foreign-born.

 

 

Foreign workers

These statistics also show that the number of foreign workers in the UK has quadrupled since 1997 when fewer than one million foreign workers worked in the country. In the last year, while the number of British born workers employed rose by 2%, the number of foreign-born workers rose by 7%.


A more detailed breakdown of the figures shows that almost all of the increase was made up of EU workers. Workers from the European Union are allowed to live and work in the UK as of right because of the single European labour market.


There are now 1,836,000 workers in the UK who were born in other EU countries. Of these, 787,000 come from the 'old EU' countries that have been members of the union for more than thirty years (Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Ireland, Malta, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden).

 

 

A8 Countries

A further 861,000 come from the A8 countries which joined the EU in 2004. The A8 countries are a group of eight eastern European countries, formerly part of the Soviet Bloc before the collapse of the Soviet Union. They are Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.


A further 153,000 come from Romania and Bulgaria, two countries which joined the EU in 2007. When Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, the British government and most other EU Countries placed 'transitional controls' in place which prevented many Bulgarian and Romanian workers from working in the UK. This was to prevent a sudden influx of workers from coming from the two countries, where wages are much lower than in the UK.


Self-employed workers, highly skilled workers with or without job offers and agricultural workers were allowed entry to the UK even before the end of transitional controls on Bulgarians and Romanians ended in the beginning of 2014. Recent research from Oxford University suggests that these exceptions mean that most Bulgarians and Romanians who wanted to come to work in the UK were able to do so before 2014.


The overall increase of workers from the EU was 89,000 in the three months to June. 12,000 of these came from the 'old EU,' however the majority came from the A8 countries (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Estonia). The number of workers from these countries rose by 59,000 in the three months in question.


Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, August 2014

	March 2014	June 2014	Change
Total UK workforce	30,341,000	30,537,000	+196,000
UK workers	25,773,000	25,813,000	+40,000
Foreign workers	4,554,000	4,724,000	+170,000
EU	1,747,000	1,836,000	+89,000
EU14 ('old EU')	775,000	787,000	+12,000
A8 (Poland etc)	802,000	861,000	+59,000
Romania & Bulgaria	140,000	153,000	+13,000
Non EU	2,807,000	2,888,000	+81,000
Africa (exc South Africa)	568,000	625,000	+57,000
South Africa	156,000	128,000	-28,000
Australia & NZ	132,000	145,000	+13,000
India	443,000	434,000	-9,000
Pakistan & Bangladesh	325,000	316,000	-9,000
USA	98,000	102,000	+4,000
Rest of the world	1,084,000	1,119,000	+35,000

The figures suggest that immigration from outside the EU has also been on the rise, with 81,000 workers arriving from non-EU countries. The majority of these came from African nations, but there were also a large proportion of workers arriving from Australia and New Zealand. These figures will be a disappointment for the UK's Coalition government which had promised to cut immigration.

 

 

Cuts

The Coalition promised to cut immigration when it came to power in 2010. In January 2010, David Cameron (then the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, now the Prime Minister at the head of the Coalition) said that immigration had been 'too high' under the previous Labour government. He promised to cut it from its then level (about 250,000 per year) to below 100,000 a year if elected.


In the end, the Conservatives did not win an outright majority in the election; however Mr Cameron became Prime Minister by forming a coalition with the centrist Liberal Democratic Party.


Although the Liberal Democrats did not approve of Mr Cameron's 'tens of thousands' pledge, the government has still tried to meet it. Critics of the pledge criticised it on various grounds such as

• It would damage the UK's economy by preventing employers from getting the workers they needed
• It was beyond the government's power to meet the promise because EU workers were free to come to the country while the UK remains in the European Union and the European Economic Area.

  

Nonetheless, the government has tried to meet the 'tens of thousands' target. It has taken various steps to do so, including

• Abolishing the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) visa. This visa enabled foreign graduates of UK universities to stay in the UK and work for two years after graduation. They were allowed to work for any employer (including themselves)
• Abolishing the Tier 1 (General) visa which allowed 'highly skilled people' (mainly graduates) from around the world to come to the UK and work. The government said that many Tier 1 (General) visa holders were working in low paid jobs in the UK. These workers too, could work for any employer
• Introducing a cap of 20,700 on the Tier 2 (General) visa for skilled workers. However, this cap has never actually been reached.
• removing the sponsorship licences from 700 colleges which prevents them from sponsoring foreign students from outside the EU for Tier 4 student visas
• Preventing UK citizens and permanent residents who earn less than £18,600 a year from bringing foreign born spouses to live with them in the UK.

The government had some early successes, cutting the level of net immigration from 250,000 annually to around 150,000 annually by late 2013 but, since then, the level has risen back above 200,000.

 

 

Targets

These latest employment figures show that EU immigration is increasing and that the government cannot meet its target. But they also show that even non-EU employment in the UK continues to rise which suggests that immigration from outside the EU may still be rising too.


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UK publishes 'rewritten' immigration report

The United Kingdom's Home Office has finally published a controversial report about immigration from the European Union. The Report, 'Review of the Balance of Competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union is said to have been suppressed for four months by senior members of the government.


The report examines the costs and benefits to the UK of free movement of labour throughout the EU. This allows EU citizens to live and work freely throughout the EU. During the 21st century, and particularly since 2004 when eight former communist countries in Eastern Europe joined the Union, there has been much greater levels of immigration from EU countries into the UK.


This has been controversial. Many business groups say that it is good for the economy. Some say that immigration from the EU is bad as it has exerted a downward pressure on wage rates in certain sectors of the economy. There are also those who argue that much of the time migrants do jobs that local British people do not want to do.

 

 

'Largely positive'

The final version of the report concludes that the impact of this immigration has been 'largely positive'.


The report says 'The effects are viewed [by contributors to the report] as largely positive, providing a wide range of skilled labour and opportunities for UK workers, and their employers, in other Member States. '


However, it has emerged that this report is at least the third draft. It is said that the published report is a compromise report which has been agreed between members of the UK's Coalition government after months of argument.

 

 

EU membership 'a contentious issue'

The Coalition, which came to power in 2010, was formed by the right-of-centre, largely Eurosceptic, Conservative Party and the centrist, pro-European, Liberal Democratic Party. Any report into the benefits and costs of EU membership, therefore, was bound to be a contentious issue.


On Thursday 17th July, the UK's Business Secretary Vince Cable told the BBC that an earlier version of the report (prepared by the Home Office which is headed by the Conservative Theresa May) was political propaganda and was written with an anti-immigration bias.


Mr Cable said 'We disagreed with the content and thought it was propagandist rather than objective which is why we went back to the drawing board….A study has now been produced that is balanced'.

 

 

Earlier draft 'suppressed'

But in March, the BBC reported that an earlier draft of the report had been suppressed by the Prime Minister's office because it was seen as being too pro-European. At that time, the Conservatives were campaigning for the elections for the European Parliament.


The Prime Minister, David Cameron, is a Conservative. Mr Cameron was attempting to win support from the country by saying that he would introduce legislation to prevent European citizens from coming to the UK to claim benefits (this is known as 'benefits tourism').


The BBC reported that the initial draft of the report said that benefits tourism was not a problem and that almost every European who comes to the UK comes to work, not to claim benefits. This report, the BBC said, would have undermined the Conservatives' election campaign and so the Prime Minister suppressed it.

 

 

Immigration 'a central issue in UK politics'

All this shows that immigration is now a central issue in UK politics. It also shows that immigration has become linked in the public mind with the UK's membership of the EU. Some UK politicians claim that the only way to limit immigration is to leave the EU.


All this political horse trading has meant that the published report does not reach any conclusions on the overall desirability of immigration from the EU. In fact, it barely reaches any conclusions at all.


This is perhaps as far as it goes; 'the effects of free movement are felt differently by different individuals, and particularly at different ends of the income scale'.


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Immigration likely to be a factor in European elections

Pollsters are predicting that the EU elections will prove difficult for ruling parties throughout the European Union. Polls show that immigration is one subject that is driving voters to vote for fringe parties on the right and left.


The European elections will be held throughout the EU on 22nd May. There are 751 seats being contested. Pollsters expect the votes for mainstream political parties to fall dramatically. Polls show that fringe parties, often with anti-immigration policies, are likely to do well.


The main reason for the change, analysts say, is that the public no longer trust mainstream political parties to solve their problems. Polls throughout the EU show that trust in the EU itself has been greatly eroded, even in countries which do very well financially out of EU membership.

 

 

Growing mistrust of EU

In May 2007, polling showed that only 18% of Poles tended to distrust the EU. By December 2012, despite the great economic benefit Poland has gained from EU membership. That figure has risen to 42%. In Germany and France, traditionally among the most 'pro-European' EU members, distrust of the EU has risen from 36% and 41% respectively to 59% and 56%.


Traditionally, the UK has been the most 'Eurosceptic' country in the EU but this is not the case anymore. In 2007, 49% of Britons distrusted the EU. This had grown to 69% in 2012. But in Spain, distrust of the EU rocketed from 23% in 2007 to 72% in 2012, making it the new home of euroscepticism.
 

There are many reasons for this growing dissatisfaction with European institutions.

• Many say that there is a 'democratic deficit' at the heart of Europe because the European Commission, which has much of Europe's power, is a body of governmental appointees
• Manly also say that the EU has failed to develop an effective foreign policy. They say that the EU's foreign representative, Baroness Ashton, has been powerless and irrelevant during the Ukrainian crisis. Radek Sikorski, the Polish foreign minister is on record saying that President Putin of Russia has 'only contempt for Europe'
• Since the last elections in 2009, Europe has been through a financial crisis which has left many people, particularly in southern Europe, unemployed. The crisis left several countries including Ireland and Greece virtually bankrupt. Throughout Europe, standards of living have fallen and the eurozone's currency, the euro, very nearly collapsed.

 

 

Voters expected to blame immigrants for economic woes

There were many causes for this crisis, not least the international banking crisis of 2008 and the lack of a common fiscal policy in the Eurozone. However, it seems that, in the wake of this crisis, many EU citizens blame immigrants, not bankers, for their problems.


In Austria, the far-right Freedom Party led by Heinz-Christian Strache is expected to gain votes. In the Netherlands, the Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom or PVV) is expected to come second.


In France, the Front Nationale is polling strongly and in the UK, the anti-EU UK Independence Party, which advocates that the UK should leave the EU altogether to limit immigration from the EU, is expected to come first in the UK election.

 

 

Eurosceptics

All these parties oppose the free movement of people within the EU and also are sceptical of the benefits that EU membership confers on their own countries.


According to at least one respected European politician, the rise of these fringe parties has been caused by the complacency of the mainstream political establishment. Joschka Fischer, the former German foreign minister says 'The problem is not the Eurosceptics. The problem is the mainstream parties… [The eurosceptics are] strong because they are managing the emotions and we are not'.


According to many centrist politicians, far from causing Europe's problems, immigration is, in fact, the answer. Ania Skrzypek, a Polish political scientist, told UK newspaper The Guardian 'In western Europe many think the welfare systems are not sustainable. We just can't afford them. Migration is the answer'.

 

 

EU population set to fall

This is because the population of Europe is set to fall substantially over the next generation. This will cause labour shortages and mean that the number of workers will fall while the number of pensioners will rise, leading to an increase in the tax burden.


But traditional, mainstream parties have not communicated this reality to the public. They allow fringe parties to whip up hysteria about immigration and introduce limits on migration themselves in order to try to gain votes. It seems likely that after the election increasing political power will be in the hands of 'fringe parties'.


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New UK figures to show rise in immigration from EU

The next set of official UK immigration statistics are likely to show an increase of more than 25% in the number of Romanians and Bulgarians living in the UK since the same time last year, according to the Migration Observatory at Oxford University.


Dr Carlos Villas-Silva, a senior research at the Migration Observatory, said 'It is almost certain that we are going to see an increase in that number from the first quarter in 2013 to the first quarter in 2014," he said. "We would expect at least 30,000 more… that would be the minimum you would expect.


Indeed, Dr Villas-Silva said that the number of Romanians and Bulgarians in the UK might be as high as 200,000 when the new figures are released later this week. This compares with only 29,000 in 2007 when the two countries joined the European Union and only 112,000 in the first quarter of 2013.

 

 

Embarrassment for Prime Minister

If Dr Villas-Silva is right, then this will be a great embarrassment to the UK's Prime Minister David Cameron. It is also likely to result in an increase in electoral support for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) at the European Parliament elections which will be held on 22nd May. UKIP is a right-wing party which campaigns for the UK to leave the European Union.


The UK's population is, by-and-large, opposed to mass immigration. Polls consistently find that about 75% of the population think there has been too much immigration.


UKIP says that the UK should be able to control levels of immigration from any Country. EU citizens can live and work freely in the UK and in other EU Countries. If the UK left the EU, It could then, says UKIP leader Nigel Farage, stop EU immigration into the UK.

 

 

Conservatives tend to oppose immigration

Mr Cameron heads the right-wing Conservative Party and is prime minister at the head of a Coalition government which contains Conservatives and members of the centrist Liberal Democrats. The Conservative Party is, traditionally, the main stream party for those who oppose immigration but Mr Cameron does not want the UK to leave the EU. He is therefore in a difficult position.


Mr Cameron became Prime Minister in 2010 after the Conservatives became the biggest single party after the general election in that year. During the election campaign, Mr Cameron promised to reduce net annual immigration to the UK from the level at the time; about 250,000 a year, to 'tens of thousands' a year.


Critics said that this promise was impossible for Mr Cameron to keep because the UK is a member of the EU which guarantees the 'free movement of labour' between member states.

 

 

Changes to immigration system

Mr Cameron's government has introduced numerous changes to the system to cut immigration from outside the EU. It has;

• Abolished the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) visa. This allowed foreign graduates of UK universities to stay in the UK and work for two years after graduation for any employer (including self-employment)
• Abolished the Tier 1 (General) visa which allowed 'highly skilled people' (mainly graduates) from around the world to live and work in the UK. They were able to work for any employer (including self-employment). The government said that many Tier 1 (General) holders worked in low-paid occupations.
• Introduced a cap of 20,700 on the Tier 2 (General) visa for skilled workers. The Home Office has also introduced stringent requirements for applicants making it time-consuming and expensive to apply for these visas. It is for this reason that in reality the cap is never reached
• Removed the licences from 700 colleges which effectively prevents them from sponsoring foreign students from outside the EU for Tier 4 student visas
• Prevented UK citizens and permanent residents who earn less than £18,600 a year from bringing foreign born spouses to live in the UK.

Critics of the Coalition's immigration policy say that these policies have been extremely damaging to the UK's economy. They did have the effect of reducing net immigration at first. By September 2013, net immigration was down to 150,000 per year. But, since then, immigration has been climbing up again. This is because of increased immigration from within the EU.

 

 

Southern Europeans

Many of the EU migrants have come from southern Europe where many countries are still in recession. Figures show that the numbers of arrivals from Portugal, Italy and Greece have risen. Others have come from eastern Europe where, on the whole, rates of pay are considerably lower than in the UK.


Consequently, the last official figures from the UK's Office for National Statistics showed that net immigration rose in the year to December 2013 to 212,000, up 60,000 on the previous figure.


This is likely to drive even more traditional Conservatives to register a protest vote by voting for UKIP.

 

 

UKIP predictions

UKIP warned that many new Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants would arrive in the UK when restrictions were lifted in January 2014. This may very well have turned out to be incorrect. However, the Migration Observatory predicts that the new figures will show that there has been a significant increase in immigration from these two Countries since January 2013.


It seems that the bulk of the immigrants arrived in 2013 before restrictions were lifted. This will be bad news for Mr Cameron.


Although the two countries joined the EU in 2007, the UK, along with most other western EU countries, put 'transitional controls' in place which put restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians living and working in the UK. The transitional controls lasted seven years and expired after 31st December 2013.

 

 

Bulgarians' and Romanians' work restrictions

Until then, only the following categories of Bulgarians and Romanians were allowed to work in the UK

• Self employed
• Highly skilled migrants with job offers under the work permit scheme (or who scored sufficient points under the High Skilled Migrant Program rules)
• Agricultural workers

On 1st January, journalists waited at UK airports many expecting large numbers of immigrants to arrive. This did not happen. What appears to have happened is that immigrants from the two Countries actually arrived before then.


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UK and EU move towards new immigration clash

A new proposal from the UK's Coalition government to limit access to social welfare payments by EU citizens has been branded illegal by the European Commission. This pronouncement escalates a war of words between the EU and the UK over the free movement of European workers.


The UK's Work and Pensions Minister, Ian Duncan Smith, has decreed that, from March 1st onwards, EU migrants to the UK must normally be able to show that they have earned at least £150 per week for at least three months before they can claim UK benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance (unemployment benefit).


Mr Duncan Smith said that EU citizens who had been in work but had not earned £150 per week for the required period would be tested to see whether they had been in 'genuine and effective' employment or they would be denied benefits. The EU's definition of a worker includes a requirement that the work engaged in must be genuine and effective.

 

 

Minimum earnings threshold

But on 19th February 2014, a spokesman for the European Commission told journalists that using 'a minimum earnings threshold' to decide who would be eligible for benefits would be contrary to European law.


The spokesman said that the EU's definition of a worker was 'any person who carries out genuine and effective work for which he or she is paid under the direction of someone else'. He continued 'The Court of Justice's case law makes it clear that…a definition of a worker according to the amount he or she earns is not compatible with EU law.


The UK government insists that its definition of work is in accord with EU law. It says that the fact that those earning less than £150 per week will be able to prove that they qualify as 'workers' by showing that they engage in 'genuine and effective' work means that they are abiding by the EU's definition of 'a worker'.

 

 

EC will scrutinise measures 'very closely'

The European Commission says that it has asked the UK government to send the full details of its proposals to the Commission. The spokesman said 'The European Commission will scrutinise very closely the latest measures announced by the UK to ensure their full compliance with EU law'.


This is merely the latest episode in a running battle between the UK and the EU over immigration. The UK's Coalition government has introduced numerous changes to prevent the scourge of 'benefits tourism'; that is, EU citizens coming to the UK to claim UK benefits rather than to work.


The European Commission insists that the threat of 'benefits tourism' is 'a myth'. On 10th February, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Laszlo Andor, gave a speech in Bristol, (UK) in which he laid out data which show that EU migrants to the UK are actually far less likely to claim benefits than UK citizens and were more likely to be better educated and to be in work.

 

 

EC attacking UK for demonising EU migrants

Mr Andor, along with other senior European Commission figures, has attacked the UK's government for demonising EU migrants and for ignoring the facts when formulating policy. If their intention was to make the UK government change course, it seems to have had no effect.


In fact, it may be that Mr Cameron's government is actually seeking out arguments with the European Commission for electoral purposes.


The UK has struggled with membership of the European Union since it joined in 1975. Most of the press is virulently anti-EU and there is a sizeable proportion of the electorate that would like to leave the EU or, at the very least, hold a referendum on the UK's EU membership.

 

 

Cameron's Conservatives under attack

Prime Minister David Cameron is leader of the right-wing Conservative Party, traditionally the home of voters who are dissatisfied with the UK's EU-membership.


However, in recent years, the single-issue pressure group The UK Independence Party has scored significant electoral gains. Polls show that UKIP currently scores a fairly steady 12% support in opinion polls.


UKIP is thought to gain most of its support at the expense Mr Cameron's Conservatives Party. Mr Cameron is said to fear that UKIP can cost him the next general election in 2015 by splitting the right-wing vote and allowing the left-wing Labour Party to win more seats.

 

 

Conservatives have become more Eurosceptic

On top of this, Mr Cameron's own party has become much more negative about Europe since 2010 when most of the newly elected Conservative MPs were ardently 'Eurosceptic'.


Therefore, it may well be in Mr Cameron's interests to create an argument with 'Europe' to boost his Eurosceptic credentials ahead of the European elections in May 2014.


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UK PM clashes with his own party on immigration

The UK's House of Commons voted on the Coalition government's Immigration bill on Friday 31st January 2014. The bill was passed by the Commons and will now proceed to the House of Lords. By law, the Lords cannot legally prevent the passage of the bill, but they can delay it by introducing amendments and returning it for further votes in the Common.


The Home Secretary, Theresa May, introduced an amendment to the bill which was passed by the Commons by 297 votes to 34. This amendment will, if confirmed by the House of Lords, allow the UK to strip naturalised British citizens of their citizenship when they are suspected of terrorism offences, even if this means that they will become stateless.


This amendment was labelled 'irresponsible and unjust' by the human rights group Liberty. And on the BBC political debate show Question Time, former Conservative Home Secretary Ken Clarke MP voiced concern about the amendment saying he would ask the Attorney General Dominic Grieve 'to satisfy me [that the amendment] was compatible with the rule of law'.

 

 

Raab's amendment

Parliamentary commentators believe that Mrs May introduced her amendment in order to try to stop a backbench rebellion in favour of another amendment introduced by Conservative backbencher Dominic Raab.


Mr Raab's amendment would have removed the right of foreign-born criminals to use EU human rights legislation to avoid deportation. Currently, many foreign-born criminals who have family in the UK go to court to oppose their deportation on the grounds that the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees all EU citizens the 'right to family life'.


Mrs May told the Commons that she opposed Mr Raab's amendment because, if the amendment was passed. This would make the Immigration Act 'incompatible' with EU law. One would, therefore, have expected Mr Cameron and his cabinet colleagues to vote against the amendment.

 

 

Front bench abstained on 'illegal' amendment

However, despite the fact that the government's own legal advisors had advised that the amendment would be illegal, Mr Cameron ordered his cabinet colleagues to abstain during the vote on Mr Raab's amendment.


Westminster commentators say that this was a tactical move to avoid a split within the Conservative Party but is rumoured that Mrs May was upset by the Prime Minister's intervention because she believes that it undermined her authority. As mentioned above Mrs May wanted her party to vote against the amendment.


When the vote was held, Mr Raab's amendment was defeated because Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs voted against it so will not become law.

 

 

Cameron increasingly alienated from right wing

But Westminster commentators say that the whole episode shows that Mr Cameron is becoming increasingly alienated from the right wing of his own party who are virulently opposed to the European Union and to immigration, which they see as being out of the UK's control because it is a member of the European Union.


The Shadow Immigration Minister, Labour's Yvette Cooper, accused Mr Cameron of being 'scared of his own backbenchers'. A spokesman for the anti-EU UK Independence Party said that Mr Cameron had 'lost the plot'.


Matthew Parris, a former Conservative MP and political commentator said that there was now a 'fifth column' of Conservative backbenchers which hates the EU and wants to destroy David Cameron because they do not trust him to allow a referendum on the UK's membership of the Union.

 

 

Religious fanaticism

Mr Parris wrote 'We are dealing here with a quasi-religious fanaticism…they will not rest until he's gone.' The bill will now go to the House of Lords where the Lords will debate the bill and, no doubt, propose various amendments to it.
 

The current main clauses in the bill provide

• Many immigrants will have to pay a £200 per year levy to be able to use the UK's National Health Service
• Landlords will be required to check the immigration status of anyone they intend to let a property to to ensure that the prospective tenant has the right to reside in the UK
• Banks will be required to check new customers' immigration status to ensure that they are in the UK legally before allowing them to open a bank account
• The grounds for appeal against an order for deportation will be reduced from 17 to four
• Foreign criminals will be deported before their appeal against deportation is heard. They will then be allowed to pursue their appeal from their home country and will be readmitted if their appeal is successful.

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UK's attitude to EU immigration hardens

Polls show that almost half of UK citizens do not believe that Romanians and Bulgarians should be allowed to live and work in the UK. More than half of people questioned in another recent poll believe that immigration has had negative consequences for the country.


Another poll suggests that the anti-immigration UK Independence Party may come second in the UK's elections for the European Parliament in May this year. This is likely to result in the UK's Coalition government trying to show itself to be more 'anti-immigrant' to try to win back votes.


Polls also provide a possible explanation for the UK's anti-immigration sentiment; most Britons believe that there are many more immigrants living in the country than is actually the case. This is probably because the UK media present a somewhat one-sided version of the truth.

 

 

Three quarter of Britons want cut in immigration

A BBC poll conducted early in January 2014 showed that over three quarters of those questioned wanted immigration cut. 56% wanted it reduced 'a lot' and a further 21% wanted it reduced 'a little'.


The poll, produced for a BBC programme, The Truth About Immigration, showed that even some of those who believe that immigration is good for the economy want the number of immigrants coming to the UK reduced. Only 4% of those questioned wanted immigration to increase.


Among lower-qualified people, the anti-immigration sentiment was even more extreme. 85% of those with no qualifications wanted to see immigration reduced and 88% of those in manual jobs want a reduction.

 

 

Low-skilled immigrants from EU

This may have something to do with the fact that, in recent years, a large number of immigrants have come from eastern Europe to work in lower skilled and manual work.


This has had the effect, some believe, of placing downward pressure on wages for lower skilled work, such as painting and decorating and catering work.


Also, polling shows that Britons tend to overestimate the number of immigrants in the country. An Ipsos-Mori poll carried out in July 2013 showed that many Britons believe that about 30% of the UK's population is now made up of immigrants.

 

 

One eighth of UK population born abroad

In fact, analysis of census data shows that only 13% or one eighth of the population was born abroad.


The UK Independence Party (UKIP) seems to be benefiting from this anti-immigration sentiment. In a poll conducted by pollsters YouGov, 28% of respondents stated that they intended to vote for UKIP in the May European Parliament elections, which puts UKIP in second place behind the Labour Party on 32%.

The Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, attracted only 23% of those surveyed. Some of this support can be accounted for by general dissatisfaction with the Coalition government (in which the Conservatives are the senior partners to the Liberal Democrats) but some will be due to UKIP's strongly anti-immigration stance.

 

 

UKIP supports immigration moratorium

The UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, told the BBC early in January 2014 that he would support a moratorium on permanent immigration for five years, even if this would damage the economy.


Mr Farage said that, during the five year period when no permanent immigration would be allowed, skilled workers would still be able to come to work in the UK using temporary work permits; this would not lead to permanent residence at a later date.


He said 'If you said to me do you want to see another five million people come to Britain, and if that happened we would all be slightly richer, I would say, 'Do you know what? I would rather we were not slightly richer. I would rather we had communities that were rather more united and we had a situation where young unemployed British people had a realistic chance of getting a job'.

 

 

Majority approve of skilled immigration

Despite the general consensus against mass immigration, a consistent majority of those questioned in UK polls say they approve of skilled immigration, no matter where it comes from.


In the recent British Social Attitudes Survey carried out by NatCen Social Research, 63% were in favour of skilled migrants from eastern Europe coming to do jobs in the UK. 67% think students should come to study in the UK if they have good grades.


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UK 'misguided' on EU immigration policy says EU commissioner

Laszlo Andor, the EU's commissioner for social affairs and social inclusion, says that the debate on migration within the EU has become 'emotional and misguided'. He said that the press, particularly in Germany and the UK, had been printing 'myths' about immigration.


Mr Andor was speaking at the launch of new rules on the eligibility for social security benefits of EU citizens who have moved to other EU states. The European Commission hopes that these guidelines will clarify the law for member states.


Mr Andor was speaking to journalists in Brussels on 13th January 2014. He said that politicians in some EU countries, he was referring primarily to the UK and Germany, have been stirring up unease about immigration.

 

 

EU citizens will learn to ignore politicians

He said that he expected that the people of the EU would learn to disregard their politicians in future, now that a forecast 'flood' of Romanians and Bulgarians has failed to materialise.


Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. When they joined, most western EU countries imposed 'transitional controls' on the free movement of Romanians and Bulgarians to work within their borders. This is permissible under EU law. The transitional controls are only permitted to last for seven years and so they were removed at midnight on 31st December 2013.


Many right-wing politicians and newspapers in the UK predicted that 50,000 Bulgarians and Romanians would arrive each year for the next five years. Newspapers sent journalists to meet all flights from the two countries on 1st January 2014.

 

 

25 migrants from Romania and Bulgaria

In fact, since 1st January, very few migrants seem to have arrived from the two countries in the UK. The Daily Express newspaper, which had been predicting that thousands of migrants would arrive in January, reported on Tuesday 14th January that only 25 Bulgarians and Romanians have arrived since 1st January.


Mr Andor said that the failure of the predicted flood to arrive will lead UK citizens now to 'pay more attention to the facts' about immigration and listen less to the dire predictions of the press.


Mr Andor said 'I think when people in the United Kingdom see that on 1 January there was no influx of Romanians and Bulgarians and the evidence that will help to alleviate the existing concerns. People will pay more attention to the facts'.

 

 

Domestic political agenda

He said that some of the warnings of immigration from national politicians had been made to suit the interests of politicians and their 'domestic political agenda'. This seems to be a reference to the difficulty that David Cameron, the UK's prime minister, is having as his right-wing Conservative Party loses support to the anti-EU and anti-immigration UK Independence Party (UKIP).


Mr Andor told journalists that a proposal by Mr Cameron to prevent EU citizens, such as Poles, who work in the UK from sending child benefit back to their children in Poland would be 'discriminatory in terms of the nationality of workers who work and pay taxes in the UK'.


Mr Andor said that the UK risked looking 'nasty' by clamping down on migrants benefits.

 

 

No comment

He was also asked by journalists to comment on a proposal from the UK Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith to prevent EU migrants from claiming benefits for two years after arriving in the UK. He said that he was not prepared to comment on this proposal because, as yet, this was not official UK government policy.


'We have seen so many different ideas in the last two months, so it is very difficult to respond to all of them individually. If we see any concrete proposals in an official document that makes any clarification on restrictions then we will look into them' he said.


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UK Cabinet split on EU immigration

A senior Conservative cabinet minister has been 'rebuked' by the UK's Prime Minister David Cameron for saying that he did not accept 'that the European Union is responsible for unacceptable waves of migration' and adding that immigration had made the UK 'far more exciting and healthier'.


Kenneth Clarke, a veteran Conservative politician who served in Mrs Thatcher's cabinet in the 1980s, told The Financial Times that immigrants from the EU had made 'a positive contribution to our economy'.


Mr Clarke is a noted 'europhile'. This is increasingly rare in a Conservative politician as the party has, in recent years, become increasingly 'eurosceptic'.

 

 

Major parties vie to be tough on immigration

Also, over the last five years in particular, encouraged by anti-immigration views in the polls, politicians of all three major parties; The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, have tried to outdo each other to be seen to be 'tougher' on immigration.


This has caused considerable disquiet among some rank and file party members, particularly in the Liberal Democratic Party which has traditionally been more 'pro-immigration'.


Mr Clarke told the Financial Times that it would be impossible for the single European market to work unless workers were allowed to move freely throughout the EU. He attacked those who are calling on the government to do more to stop EU migrants from coming to the UK as 'escapists'.

 

 

'Right wing nationalist escapism' – Clarke

'The idea that you can have some fundamental debate that somehow stops all these foreigners coming here is rather typical right wing, nationalist escapism, I think', he said.


But the Prime Minister's official spokesman told journalists 'Immigration in the decade up to 2010 was allowed to be out of control. The Prime Minister has been very clear about that. It was too high'.


The spokesman said that much of this immigration had come from within the EU after the former Labour government failed to introduce controls on the free movement of Poles and other eastern Europeans when eight eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004.


The Labour government at the time predicted that 13,000 people would come each year from the new member states to the UK. In fact, more than 1.5m are thought to have come in the first year and a half.

 

 

Conservatives increasingly Eurosceptic

Mr Clarke's pro-EU stance has become increasingly unusual in a Conservative MP in recent years as younger Conservative MPs are increasingly anti-European. Many would be in favour of the UK leaving the EU if it cannot renegotiate the terms of its membership.


Mr Cameron faces pressure to oppose EU immigration not only from within his own party but also from the UK Independence Party (UKIP); a right-wing party that opposes immigration and the UK's membership of the EU.


Polls show that UKIP may come second behind Labour in the European elections to be held later this year. The government is therefore introducing policies that will 'crack down' on abuse of the benefits system by EU migrants (although the evidence suggests that EU migrants pay more tax and receive less in benefits than UK citizens).

 

 

Europhilia cost Clarke Tory leadership

Mr Clarke is one of very few notable Conservative politicians of the last thirty years who has been publicly supportive of the UK's involvement in the EU. Indeed, his 'europhile' tendencies are said to have cost him the chance to lead the Conservatives.


He stood for leadership on three occasions; in 1997, 2001 and 2005 and on each occasion right-wing, Eurosceptic MPs voted tactically to defeat him.


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EU vice president accuses UK PM of fuelling immigration fears

Viviane Reding, the vice president of the European Union, has accused the UK's Prime Minister David Cameron of risking the future of the British people by using populist, anti-EU rhetoric to try to win votes.


During a 'web chat' streamed from Brussels on Thursday 9th January 2014, Ms Reding said that the Prime Minister is misleading the UK public by claiming that Britain is under siege from an army of European immigrants who will steal British jobs and/or live off British benefits. She said that the figures show that the UK has benefited from EU immigration.


Mr Cameron's government introduced emergency legislation at the end of December to prevent EU citizens from claiming benefits until they had been in the UK for three months. The legislation would also bar those who cannot speak English from claiming benefits.

 

 

Child benefit

On 20th December 2013, Mr Cameron provoked a public rebuke from former Polish President Lech Walesa by suggesting that he would act to prevent EU citizens who work in the UK from claiming child benefit for children living in their home countries.


Under the current rules, workers from other EU countries who live in the UK are entitled to claim UK child benefit even if their children continue to reside outside the UK. Claimants are paid £20.30 per child per week for their first child and £13.40 for subsequent children.


UK newspaper The Daily Mail reports that UK child benefit is currently paid for 25,659 children living in Poland. Child benefit is also paid for more than 1,000 children in Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia, France, Latvia and Spain.

 

 

Poland

Mr Cameron told Andrew Marr on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on 5th January 2014, 'it's wrong that someone from Poland who comes here, who works hard - and I am absolutely all in favour of that - but I don't think we should be paying child benefit to their family back at home in Poland'.


Many Polish politicians weighed into the debate. One, Jan Bury, a former treasury minister, is a member of the Tusk party which is the junior partner in the governing coalition. He told Poles 'As Poles, we can also say 'no' to Prime Minister Cameron and his policies. We call on Poles to boycott British retailer Tesco'.


Ms Reding said that the UK government was spreading fear about EU nationals coming to the UK to take jobs or to claim benefits, and said that these fears were 'myths'.

 

 

Invasion of foreigners is 'not true'

She said 'This supposed invasion of foreigners coming to the UK and stealing the jobs and stealing the social security and the health money. The fact and figures, and we all know this, show it is simply not true'.


In an astonishingly direct attack on the UK government she asked 'What is leadership if you just try with populistic movements and populistic speech to gain votes? You are destroying the future of your people'. She called on 'reasonable forces' in the UK to explain the true position and dispel the myths which 'have nothing to do with reality'. She said that, in fact, the UK has benefited from EU immigration.


She said 'British industry has made it very clear, putting the figures on the table and showing that the GDP of Britain rose by 3-4% because of the input of these working Europeans who come to Great Britain'.

 

 

United States of Europe

Ms Reding gave a speech on Tuesday 7th January in which she called for the establishment of 'a United States of Europe'. This phrase has a special resonance in the UK, as Ms Reding must have known. Eurosceptics claim, with some justification, that the UK signed up for a 'common market' and is now being railroaded into a 'United States of Europe'.


The UK has long been the most Eurosceptic country in the EU. A recent poll by YouGov-Cambridge found that 20% of Britons want to leave the EU and a further 40% want looser links with the Union. Only 14% of those surveyed in the UK want closer integration with the Union.


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More EU countries launch 'golden visas'

If you have money to spare and want to live in the European Union, there are now quite a few options open to you. The UK has had its Tier 1 (Investor) visa since 2008. Latvia launched its Immigrant Investor Visa in 2008. Portugal launched the so-called 'Golden Visa' in 2012. Now, Cyprus, Spain and Greece have joined them. All these countries issue temporary resident visas to people who invest in property or other investments within their country.


The rules vary from country to country, as do the amounts that you have to pay and the length of the visa you will receive but the basic principle is the same. If you can afford to make a significant investment in a European country, then you will be eligible for a temporary resident visa.


What is more, if you qualify for a visa in a Schengen country, you will be able to travel fairly freely throughout the Schengen Area for 90 days in every 6 month period. The Schengen Area comprises 26 countries, most of which are in continental Europe and part of the European Union. The 26 countries no longer check for passports at their common borders thereby creating a free-travel area. The UK and Ireland are not part of the Schengen Area.


The investor visa schemes currently in operation are as follows

 

 

The UK

The UK's Tier 1 (Investor visa) allows foreign nationals from outside the European Economic Area to apply for a temporary residence visa which lasts for three years initially. It can be renewed and visa holders will, in time qualify for permanent residence then citizenship. The minimum investment is £1m. Investment can be made in any government approved UK investment.

 

 

Latvia

Latvia's Immigrant Investor Visa currently allows those who make a minimum qualifying investment of 20,000 Latvian Lats to apply for a temporary residence visa lasting for five years. This scheme is probably the best value for money. The scheme opened in 2010 and thousands of visas have been issued but, in October 2013, The Latvian parliament approved changes to the scheme. If these are approved by the president, as of January 2014, the minimum investment will be €150,000. The visa application fee will also rise from about 70 Lats to some €50,000.

 

 

Portugal

Portugal's 'Golden Visa' scheme which opened in 2012, allows those who make a minimum investment of €500,000 to apply for a temporary resident visa. The initial visa lasts for one year and can be renewed twice for two year periods. At the end of that period, visa holders should be able to apply for permanent residency provided that they have fulfilled the minimum residence periods each year. Visa holders must spend at least seven days in Portugal in the first year and 14 days in the remaining four years. Thereafter, visa holders should be able to apply for citizenship. People who invest €1m in Portugal or set up a business which creates 10 jobs can also apply.

 

 

The Cyprus F Visa

The Cyprus F visa was opened in 2012. The minimum qualifying investment is €300,000. Successful applicants will receive a three-year, renewable, temporary residence visa. Cyprus also offers a 'fast track citizenship' option for those who are able and willing to invest €10,000,000 in a qualifying investment.

 

 

Greece

Greece opened its version of the Golden Visa in July 2013. An investment of €250,000 in Greek property should secure a five year resident visa. Greece also issues visas to those who make 'strategic investments' and/or create or buy a business that employs at least ten people. Successful applicants will qualify for a 5-year temporary resident visa.

 

 

Spain

Spain's temporary resident visa scheme is similar to Portugal's. It was opened for applications in October 2013. As in Portugal, the Spanish visa is also known as the 'golden visa' and also has a minimum qualifying investment of €500,000 in property. Applicants can also invest €2,000,000 in Spanish government bonds. As in Portugal, successful applicants will, initially, receive a one-year, temporary residence visa which can be renewed twice for two year extensions.


Applicants in all countries can apply to bring their spouses and dependent children with them.
These visas are clearly not for everyone. The minimum qualifying investment is, in every case, a substantial sum of money. But government representatives in all countries report that interest is high. Most interest comes from China with significant further interest coming from the Russian Federation, India and various other countries in Africa, South America and Asia.

 

 

Portugal will issue 400 Golden Visas each year

The Portuguese have so far issued 318 Golden Visas and say that they will issue about 400 each year. It remains to be seen what the effect of increased 'competition' from other EU states will be.


One thing that appears to be certain is that, as the European economy continues to struggle, it is likely that more countries will join the rush and issue visas to people from outside the European Economic Area who are prepared to invest in property, bonds or businesses.


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