{"id":105,"date":"2016-07-20T10:51:48","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T10:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.immigrationdirect.co.uk\/blog\/?p=105"},"modified":"2023-07-19T06:11:23","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T06:11:23","slug":"how-will-brexit-affect-uk-immigration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationdirect.co.uk\/blog\/citizenship\/how-will-brexit-affect-uk-immigration\/","title":{"rendered":"How Will Brexit Affect UK Immigration?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>A look at impending EU restrictions and new Prime Minister Theresa May\u2019s policies.<\/i><\/p>\n Immigration was certainly one of the central issues leading to the Brexit vote. But how exactly will Brexit actually affect immigration policy?<\/p>\n Those that voted to leave the EU posed too-open immigration policies as one of their main complaints. In the last two decades, UK immigration has soared and many are not happy about it.<\/span><\/p>\n In 1997, Prime Minister David Cameron initiated an immigration transformation that resulted in nearly twice as many immigrants arriving in the United Kingdom as the previous half-century, stated an article in <\/span>Slate magazine<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n This transformation, coupled with the open border policies of the EU, led to anxiety among many British citizens and eventually a call for more control on immigration. Extremists even called for a complete immigration stop. The recent Brexit vote solidified this call for more control and now the country is held accountable for making change.<\/span><\/p>\n But what exactly will that change look like? As of now, it\u2019s unclear.<\/span><\/p>\n In the near future, the open-border policies of the EU are likely to be limited with the UK\u2019s exit. Citizens of certain EU countries are allowed to travel passport-free between countries and, in some cases, are <\/span>allowed to work<\/a> with limited restriction. Restrictions on EU citizens\u2019 travel and right to work are likely to tighten.<\/span><\/p>\n As for general immigration policies, there is only speculation at this point.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think you would see a shift toward more qualifications, higher-income, higher-skilled workers,\u201d said Will Somerville, the UK senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, as reported by <\/span>The Atlantic<\/a>. \u201cAnd you\u2019d see an overall reduction in the numbers coming from Europe,\u201d especially from places such as Poland and Romania, where workers tend to be younger, less experienced, possessed of fewer qualifications, and, consequently, earn less.<\/span><\/p>\n The UK\u2019s new Prime Minister Theresa May is a declared strong conservative when it comes to immigration and has promised to reduce net migration substantially.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen immigration is too high, when the pace of change is too fast, it\u2019s impossible to build a cohesive society,\u201d she said in <\/span>one 2015 speech<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult for schools and hospitals and core infrastructure like housing and transport to cope. And we know that for people in low-paid jobs, wages are forced down even further while some people are forced out of work altogether.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n