Doctors, scientists and engineers from the EU could be booted out of the UK after three years after Brexit, according to leaked immigration plans from the Home Office.
The document – obtained by The Guardian – reveals the Government is considering issuing visas that could last as little as three years to “highly-skilled” migrants who come to the UK after March 2019.
Other workers – such as care workers and fruit pickers – could be told to leave after just two years.
The report, which is labelled “Draft – Official Sensitive” and produced in August, also reveals plans to drastically clamp down on which family members migrants can bring with them to the UK.
Labour MP Alison McGovern, supporter of anti-Brexit group Open Britain, said: “Our economy and our public services benefit massively from the contributions of EU citizens. There are 60,000 working in our NHS alone and many others working in all sectors, including in so-called ‘low skilled’ jobs.
“Without their efforts, our economy and our public services would be put at risk.
“The Government need to show that Britain is open to those who want to come here to work hard and contribute.
“This leaked document is part and parcel of a mean and cynical approach which is already deterring people from coming here, for example by sending deportation letters to people with every right to be here, and justifying a Home Office crackdown on international students by deploying totally bogus statistics.”
Here are some key passages from the report
On post-Brexit immigration rules:
On the definition of family members:
On how EU citizens might still get “preferential treatment” over non-EU citizens:
On focusing on Britons first to fill job vacancies:
On how EU migration has had a “positive economic impact”: