British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UK Home Secretary Priti Patel have reportedly accepted the UK Migration Advisory Committee's (MAC) recommendations for a new post-Brexit points-based visa and immigration system which is set to allow greater numbers of skilled professionals from around the world, including India, to live and work in the country.
At a meeting earlier this week, they reportedly accepted the plans to lower the minimum salary threshold requirement for such professionals from 30,000 pounds to 25,600 pounds, with additional points being scored for skill levels, job offers and English language abilities.
UK Home Office figures suggest the new rules will mean a reduction in unskilled EU migrants of about 90,000 a year. Under the new post-Brexit system, there will be an expected rise in the number of skilled migrants coming to the UK from the current 65,000 a year.
Indians lead the category of UK visas granted to skilled professionals from outside the EU, with 56,241 such Tier 2 visas granted over the previous year. That figure is expected to register a further hike following the post-Brexit changes.
The details of the new system are expected to be formally unveiled by Patel on Friday, following an expected Cabinet reshuffle by Johnson on Thursday.
The so-called Australian-style points-based system will effectively curb unskilled migrants' access to the UK from January 1, 2021, when the free movement of people from within the European Union (EU) will end under a pre-agreed transition period after Britain formally left the economic bloc on January 31.
