Evolution of UK Migration Policies

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

This study is intended to give a general notion of the important factors and events that are shaping the UK’s approach to migration policies in the past, present and the proposed future developments. In this paper, the author hopes that this study will succeed in bringing to light the complex and hidden factors which make up migration past, present, and future, how they impact everyone on a daily basis. For decades, the influx of immigrants into the United Kingdom has been an essential factor affecting economic, Political, and cultural development. However, immigration policies have taken on increased importance in the United Kingdom lately for a number of economic reasons and labour market conditions. Firstly, with the need for more skilled labor the United Kingdom is placing greater importance on immigration policy aimed largely at increasing the flow of selected skilled migrants based on having certain valued attributes, such as qualifications, occupation, and language skills etc. Secondly, in order to facilitate international trade. Given the various characteristics associated with the notion of migration, it is imperative to first of all define migration and identify the different types of migration.

1.2 The Concept of Migration

According to Ackers & Dwyer, migration is relatively defined as the movement of people across boundaries from one territorial country to another – also known as out-migration and immigration, in an international context. Hence, the place where people are migrating into is called the receiver population, while the place where the people are migrating out of is called the sender population. However, at a very basic level, there are two types of migration studied by researchers interested in studying demographics i.e. internal migration and international migration. Anderson & Ruhs indicate that internal migration occurs when people change their residence within the territorial boundaries of their resident country; for example between cities, states, municipalities, or provinces. In short, people who internally migrate simply move from one administrative territory to another administrative territory within their country of residence. On the other hand, international migration occurs when a person changes residence across a country's territorial boundary, i.e. from one country to another. Existing literature indicates that international immigrants are further classified into refugees, legal immigrants and illegal immigrants. According to Bell et al, legal immigrants are those who have migrated to another country after satisfying all the legal requirements to enter such a country, while illegal immigrants are those that have entered a foreign country without satisfying the legal requirements to do so. Nonetheless, Bolzman et al define refugees as people who cross borders into a different country in the escape of persecution.

However, Borges et al describe another form of classification namely forced migration. According to the author, a forcefully migrated person is one who has been moved from their residential country forcefully either through slavery or as a result of external factors such as civil wars or natural disasters. Burholt argues that it is crucial to clearly distinguish between international and internal migration because international migrants are likely to encounter more structural barriers to migration than internal migrants. This is because international migration is characterized by greater expenses, more difficulties in securing employment in the receiving country, more procedures as well as other issues such as learning a new language and accessing state services. Important to note though, migrants always have stronger reasons for international migration that national migration.

1.3 Historical Development of Migration in the UK

Several episodes of migration to the United Kingdom have always been in existence, but the paper demonstrates occurrences were small and demographically insignificant till world-war-two. The argument based on Censuses records reveals that from 1851 to date, number of people born abroad and living in the United Kingdom is very small up to the middle of the 20th century. Indeed, the study initial examined people’s country of birth from 1851- 1931 were the inhabitants born overseas increased by 1million (Miles, 2015). Until the end of the 1990s, the scale and pace of immigration improved without a historical pattern. For instance, the foreign residents in Wales and England doubled, growing to 4million in a period between 1991-2011 censuses currently stands at 13.5%.

1.3.1 1997 to date

The current records indicate a drastic increased of none-British native population from 4.6 million to 7.5 million between 2001 -2011. The increase is a subsequent change in policies and the Labour Law of 1997-2010. The strategies like work expansion migration and opening the doors to East Europe immigration ensuing to EU expansion in 2004 makes the immigration records to reach its highs. Before the 2010 election, among the campaigns agendas are pledges to reduce clear immigration to tenths of thousands seeing the formation of Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. The British government is presently negotiating Brexit from the European Union but proposes a new relationship with Britain outside the single market. It implies free migration and works between members states offering the government immigration control which has not been the case for the last four decades. To close off, the British have witnessed relative low immigration over the centuries. The migration is small as compared to the population with more important foreign immigration was experience after the Second World War. The number has since then, later in 1973, the British joined the EU showing a small increase.

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1.4 Point-Based Migration System

A point-based system involves the selection of labour migrants based on a range of characteristics such as language proficiency, educational qualifications, Occupation and work experience (Cook et al, 2011). This system of migration has been adopted by various countries including Canada, New Zealand and Australia – considered to be having among the best pint-based systems around the world (Dwyer & Papadimitriou, 2006). Fundamentally, this system allows migrants to be employed based on their qualifications and not just based on the fact that the employer invited them for a job. Hence, most point-based systems are aligned to economic migration categories such as work-visas. After Canada and Australia had introduced the points-based system in the 1960s and 1970s respectively, other countries such as New Zealand, the UK, Hong-Kong, and Denmark followed suit, although with different kinds of point-based systems.

There are several advantages and disadvantages to the points-based system that have been observed by scholars. For instance, Finch et al (2009) claim that point-based system has gained popularity among policymakers due to its flexible characteristic, which allows for modification based on, or in response to the prevailing economic needs. However, Ganga (2006) complains that because employers are not involved in the selection process, sometimes it ends up admitting immigrants who do not have the required skill level to find work. Ideally, this hurts the economic benefits and integration of immigration. Consequently, as Gill (2010) observes, there has been a trend of policymakers beginning to adopt a hybrid system which basically combines various selection models to address taking into account their strengths and weaknesses.

In the UK, the points-based system was introduced by the Labour Government in 2008, although policymakers in the UK have also used sponsor-based approaches in combination with the system (Ho, 2008). Whereas Home Office (2006) notes that the UK system largely borrowed from the Australian system, the UK system has had some significant differences with the systems in other countries including Australia. For instance, Home Office (2011) notes that as opposed to Australia, the UK point-based system does not only cover work visas but also other migrants such as students, entrepreneurs, investors, and sports people.

1.5 Skill-Based System of migration

The proposed UK skill-based migration system predominantly has the same objectives as the currently existing point-based system. However, according to Hopkins & Pain (2007), it aims to protect the vulnerable and create a strong border control on the type and number of people coming into the UK. ideally, according to Hunt (2008), it is aimed at an aligning the migration policy to the UK’s Industrial Strategy whose major manifesto is to developed a highly skilled, innovative and productive labour force. Another key characteristic of the UK’s proposed skill-based system is that there will be separate migration policies for both EU and non-EU citizens, except in cases where there will be extremely no need to separate.

Authors have largely concentrated on the benefaction of selective migration system specifically to the health sector, particularly in the UK. However, to date, little research has investigated the brain beyond specific controversial immigration policies in the UK. Moreover, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, there is a paucity of research and in-depth analysis of the existing UK’s Points-Based immigration Policy, and the proposed future Skills-based immigration Policy and their consequence on immigrant identity, economic and social growth in the light of existing studies of immigration policies and social theories.

1.6 The Aim of the Study

Hence, the main aim of the present study is to explore the existing UK’s Points-Based immigration Policy, and the proposed future Skills-based immigration Policy and their consequence on immigrant identity, economic and social growth

1.7 Objectives of the Study

i. To explore the brain behind the UK’s current point-based immigration system and the proposed future skill-based immigration system

ii. To investigate the impact of the UK’s Points-Based immigration Policy, and the proposed future Skills-based immigration Policy on immigrant identity and citizenship

iii. To explore the impact of UK’s Points-Based immigration Policy, and the proposed future Skills-based immigration Policy on social growth and integration

1.8 Research Questions

i. What are the brains behind the UK’s current point-based immigration system and the proposed future skill-based immigration system?

ii. What are the impact of the UK’s Points-Based immigration Policy, and the proposed future Skills-based immigration Policy on immigrant identity and citizenship?

iii. What are the impact of UK’s Points-Based immigration Policy, and the proposed future Skills-based immigration Policy on social growth and integration?

CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Gower (2015b)

Several pieces of literature have explored the UK’s approaches to immigration and questioned its benefits and limitations. For instance, Gower argues that since 2010, the UK’s approaches to migration policy has largely been characterized by efforts to limit immigration especially to non-EU citizens aiming to study, work and have family in the UK – by adopting a more selective eligibility criterion. The author goes ahead to note that 2011 saw the introduction of employer-sponsored skilled migration, characterized by an increase in the minimum language requirements. Consequently, there was a closure of two migration routes that had been previously used by former international students and skilled migrants to reside in the UK without any specific job offer. Instead, a new set of visas were introduced to admit individuals with exceptional talents and entrepreneurs. The author completes by questioning the rationale behind this approach, before concluding that no matter how much the Britain claims to be receptive to immigrants, its immigration policies indicate otherwise. To support his point, Gower (2015b) uses the example of the policy developments in 2012 where there was a change in the UK’s approach characterized by a new policy on minimum immigrant income. According to Gower, the new policy required any British national bringing any non-EU national partner into the UK must have a minimum annual income of 18,600 pounds, an increase from the previous 5,500 pounds, supporting his argument that the UK is taking an unfriendly approach to immigrants.

2.2 Gower (2015a)

In another study evaluating the UK’s approaches to immigration policy, Gower, argues that the new immigration policies have also targeted to reduce the permitted working hours for international students as well as their right to bring family members into the UK – a phenomenon which is not good for the international community. Moreover, Gower argues that the new policies made it difficult for international students to remain in the UK without any specific job offer, let alone the increased requirements for education providers to raise the bar on requirements for international student admission requirements including the requirement for highly reliable sponsors as well as high rate of student-course completion (85%)

A part of the new policies, the UK introduced an Asylum Operating Model in 2013 that sought to improve the asylum seeking process by enabling faster decision-making. Envisaged within the Immigration Act 2014, the new policies were meant to make it easier for enforcement officers to remove illegal immigrants from the country by limiting the scope of the appeal seeking process. Besides, according to Gower, the legislation aimed at creating a more hostile environment for people living in the UK without valid documentation through various services delivery channels such as accommodation, banking and driving license.

2.3 Ryan (2008)

Ryan was also keen to explore the impacts of UK’s immigration policies and raised several issues with the approach taken by the UK to raise the immigration bar. Ryan complains that in 2010, several other policies were introduced including The Life in the UK test as well as more stringent English language requirements, alongside the application fee being increased from 200 pounds in 2005 to around 1000 pounds – translating to stricter requirements for entering the UK. Nevertheless, Ryan points out that the stricter English language requirements may only apply to immigrants from non-English speaking, poorer or less educated countries and this is kind of discriminatory from an identity point of view. Ultimately, Ryan concludes that the UK’s approach to migration has been on a transformational process from strict to stricter policies aimed at addressing the challenges that accompany increased immigration, while making it harder to immigrants to enter the UK.

2.4 Dustmann & Frattini (2013)

Researchers such as Dustmann & Frattini have also explored UK’s immigration policies from an economic point of view. First, Dustmann & Frattini argues that estimating the economic cost and benefits of immigration in the UK mainly involves an evaluation the public benefits and finances consumed by the immigrants as well as the taxes and the economic contributions they make while in the country. According to Dustmann & Frattini, the economic benefits include the revenues collected from them through income tax, VAT on purchased goods and National Insurance. On the other hand, as the authors argue, the economic costs include various cash benefits such as pensions and credits, immigrants’ children’s’ education, as well as government spending on policing and transport.

Dustmann & Frattini also observed that the costs incurred by the government on immigrants include the government’s expenditure on running central government’s departments on immigration a well as defense. However, the authors claim that it is impossible to conduct a direct calculation of the fiscal impact of immigration because whereas most data are not available, the available ones may not be easily/publicly accessible. we would therefore be interested to evaluate how the UK’s current and future immigration policies are address the economic issues related to immigration.

2.5 Dustmann & Frattini (2014)

Dustmann & Frattini was also interested in the positive and negative impacts of immigration, on the sending and receiving countries. For instance, in regards to the sending country, the authors argued that the sending country gains economic benefits when migrants send back money and other economic benefits to their family members. Besides, according to the authors, the sending country benefits from a decrease in the scramble for job opportunities and the return of migrants with new skills (if at all they return home). However, Dustmann & Frattini contributes to the debate that immigration also has some negative impacts on the sending country. For instance, they argue that when people of the working age migrate overseas, the sending country’s potential workforce reduces, and some immigrants neglect their family responsibilities especially when they leave their families behind. More worryingly, according to Dustmann & Frattini, migration contributes to a brain drain – which is the transfer of a skilled and knowledgeable workforce out of the country.

On the flipside, Dustmann & Frattini point out that immigration also has several negative and positive impacts on the receiving country. For instance, they insist that the receiving country gets to develop a more diverse and rich culture, as well as a reduced shortage of workers. Besides, according to the researchers, employers in the receiving country earn more benefits because immigrants are more prepared to take low paying jobs. However, immigrating contributes to increased overcrowding, cost of services and culture clash in the receiving country

CHAPTER THREE 3.0 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Scoping

The researcher conducted a scoping the search to ensure that the current study replicated a similarly existing study. In doing so, we conducted a search in various online databases such as EBSCO, Proquest, OVID and COCHRANE. The search yielded no similar article.

3.2 Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

The researcher ensured that only the relevant literary materials were retrieved and included for review. Hence, the first inclusion criteria were literary materials written in the English language, so that the researcher could easily interpret the content. Next, the study only included literary materials that could be accessible in full-text; so that it could be easier for the researcher to have a comprehensive evaluation of the data. Next, the study only included literary materials that focused on two immigration systems i.e. the point-based and skill-based immigration systems, to ensure reliability and relevance of the data.

3.3 Study Selection

The study selection process involved two participants (i.e. the main researcher and an assistant), so as to bring transparency and eliminate bias in the selection process of literary materials. Nonetheless, the selection process began with the removal of duplicates and screening of titles to identify whether the selected materials were relevant. In doing so, the researcher downloaded and screened the full-text copies of the journal articles. Meanwhile, the second reviewer continued with the process of screening the full-text documents and excluding those that they found to be irrelevant. The researchers then scrutinized the remaining titles based on the predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Any disputes that arose during the selection process were solved by a discussion that involved a third reviewer. Ultimately, 15 literary, materials were retrieved for full review and analysis.

3.4 Data Extraction

The researchers developed a data extraction grid to identify the key characteristic of each selected study (i.e. author, year, target audience, geographical focus, and limitations). Ultimately, the process enabled the researcher to extract relevant data from each selected literary material, a process that was followed by data tabulation and analysis.

3.5 Data Analysis

The study adopted a modified form of narrative literature review described by Ferrari which entails an extraction and synthesis of key data while maintaining a rich narrative description of the findings. Particularly, this study selected narrative literature review methodology to enable the researcher to tell a story of the UK immigration policies and how the policies shape or impact on the lives of the immigrants from a social, economic and political perspective. Besides, the researcher adopted an inductive analysis especially based on the social impacts of the immigration policies.

CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 Results and discussion

4.1 The brains behind the UK’s current point-based immigration system and the proposed future skill-based immigration system

4.1.1 Point-Based system

On the background, the UK point-based system of immigration was introduced in 2005 under the assumption that it could promote tighter immigration needed to protect the British society from the pressures and disadvantages experienced as a result of a large number of immigrants during the time of economic recession. In our review, literature by Migration Watch UK reveal further that during that time, the public healthcare, the job market, and the social housing sector were said to be under constant pressure from large populations as a result of an excessive number of foreigners at the expense of the British citizens. Hence, the policy was basically introduced to bring austerity by curbing the numbers – i.e. cutting down non-EU migration as a result of being unable to restrict EU migration.

Fundamentally, the point-based system exists as a tool to help in screening permanent residents or settlers. Besides, according to Migration Watch UK, the selection criteria for point-based system originated from the findings of research studies on immigration whose main objectives included the need to identify successful was of enhancing economic assimilation. Thus, as literature by James reveals, the points were developed to enable an assessment of immigrants based on short term living measures such as having knowledge and skills in high demand domestic sectors or having desirable individual characteristics such as being youth, language proficiency, and education. The skills are largely considered to be acquired from work experience and education. However, upon passing the point test, the applicants are still required to meet certain minimum standards in areas such as good character and health.

Reviewed pieces of literature also indicate that the economic brain behind the point-based system was to identify the net benefit that prospective immigrants could bring to their home country. These benefits include their effect on the public purse or gross domestic product, all of which are positive benefits to the domestic economy. Consequently, according to Abbot et al, the points are awarded to younger immigrants who have a potentiality of making a longer-term contribution to their home country’s public finances by paying income taxes, while needing lesser short-term financial assistance. Besides, based on the objectives of the pint-based system, more points are awarded to applicants who show a high level of vocational training, formal education, and those whose human capital can be put into effective use without having to go through further training. According to Abbott, the point based system also puts much focus on other characteristics such as high-level mobility and adaptability which enables the applicant to spend less time out of the labor force. Ultimately, the system awards points to people with knowledge in the English language because having such proficiency reduces costs incurred in retraining while enhancing rapid social and economic integration.

4.1.2 Skill-Based Immigration System

Several developed countries, including the UK, hold high regard for the economic impact of immigrants. As such, according to Abbott & Beach, it is an expectation of most developed countries that immigrants should contribute to the economic growth by supplying the needed knowledge and skills within the host country’s labour force. Consequently, according to Groenendijk,, the UK centered its policy discussions around the process of identifying which type if immigration policy could yield these expected economic benefits – and the skill-based system became the best option.

The rationale for the adoption of the skill-based immigration system is based on many theoretical arguments that are of interest to the current study. For instance, literature by Groenendijk indicates that many immigrants come into the host country due to the kinship ties they have with earlier immigrants. Hence, their immigration decisions are based on the information they receive from the family members already residing in the destination they intend to move into. Therefore, they tend to have accurate and realistic expectations about the destined country’s labour prospects. Similarly, according to Goodman, immigrants are easily able to integrate into the new country because they can easily access their family member’s networks. But, according to Anderson & Ruhs, kinship-based immigrants at their working age tend to be less skilled compared to native workers and this creates a challenge in terms of their economic integration.

Another theoretical perspective underpinning the skill-based immigration policy in the UK is that whereas the influx of low skilled workers contributes to a reduction in the wages of the low native workers, the opposite applies to high-skilled immigrant workers who are able economically to integrate into the new society and have high prospects of employment . Besides, Kiwan argues that skilled immigrant workers have the potentiality of increasing the host country’s human resource stock, enhancing physical capital returns and promoting innovation to accelerate the country’s economic growth. Kiwan also, claim that the skill-based system is fundamentally based on the argument that admitting highly-skilled immigrants to meet short-term human resource shortages has a potentiality of improving the country’s industrial competitiveness while keeping the jobs within the country’s territorial boundaries. Furthermore, according to literature by Kiwan, there is a correlation between highly skilled immigrants and widened tax base thereby helping to address fiscal challenges particularly those associated with the aging population.

These reasons, as highlighted by the reviewed literature, present as the justifications for the adoption of skill-based immigration system from a general perspective, although there are specific justifications that apply to the UK context; and are based on the terms and conditions of the UK immigration regulations.

4.3 The impact of the UK’s Points-Based immigration Policy, and the proposed future Skills-based immigration Policy on immigrant identity and citizenship

Regardless of the immigration policy currently under use by the UK (i.e. point-based or skill-based), the skills element of such policies has had a great impact on the immigrant identity especially from the perspective of citizenship and naturalization. But first, it is important to note that citizenship, from time immemorial, has been conceptualized in three dimensions namely moral, social and political responsibility, community involvement and political literacy, and this conceptualization was largely drawn from T.H Marshal’s conceptualization of citizenship as a composite of social, political and civil citizenship. Besides, according to UK Border Agency, it was argued that active citizenship consisted of a habitual interaction of these three elements. Hence, this earlier conceptualization of citizenship advocated for a participative form of citizenship achieved through the acquisition of skills and knowledge and motivated by concerns over the youth’s political apathy, while not really accommodating religious and ethnic diversity. However, according to Kiwan, this conceptualization of citizenship has in the past few years shifted towards modern debates over immigration, national identity and ‘Britishness’. Consequently, the recent policy development on citizenship education was characterized by the addition of a fourth strand of ‘diversity and identity in the UK’ on top of the earlier existing three strands including community development, political literacy, and moral responsibility.

As part of the policy developments to enhance skill-based immigration, nationality and citizenship were considered as two separate domains in the citizenship education policy. However, as observed by Ajegbo et al, the introduction of the naturalization domain explicitly brought the two concepts together – with the rationale of raising the status of British citizenship. Furthermore, Ajegbo et al observe that this was part of the government’s policy agenda to of encouraging diversity and community cohesion.

Against this background, it is interesting to note that the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, as it stands now, requires applicants of British citizenship and or immigrants seeking to become British citizens to demonstrate a sufficient English, Scottish Gaelic or Welsh language knowledge, and to have a bit of knowledge about life in the UK.

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However, Kiwan notes that these regulation policies were adopted from the recommendations made by an Advisory group report whose main intentions were to make the English language an instrument of promoting participation and communication with other citizens, and not as a barrier to British citizenship. Nonetheless, literature by Kiwan indicates that these naturalization requirements were presented by the advisory group as an entitlement based on the idea of promoting life-long learning. Moreover, the naturalization requirements were intended to promote the notion of progress due to its dual elements of the course and testing as opposed to single standards –thereby expressing the explicit education role fulfilled by the naturalization requirements. Even so, those applying for UK citizenship are required to pass an accredited citizenship and language course or a citizenship test.

So, to interpret the entry requirements for highly skilled immigrants both in the current and future UK immigration policy in regards to these naturalization requirements, we take a look at the various citizenship and entry visa requirements and evaluate their impacts or implications to immigrants. First, considering the Tier 1 entry requirements (Highly-Skilled Migrants), they have an arguably favorable economic status especially in reference to the criteria of age, work experience, competence in English language, financial capabilities, educational qualifications, and UK experience, and are therefore more likely to successfully apply for UK citizenship. However, a close examination of these criteria reveals that the moral conception of a good citizen is primarily based on economic capabilities i.e. being young and thus being economically active, coupled with existing finances, qualifications, and working experience – indicating relatively less burden to the welfare state. Thus, it is possible to argue that because the entry of skilled migrants is not dependent on the employer but rather on the global competitiveness of the immigrants, the moral worth, inclusion, and rights of the immigrants is dictated by their market value. This interpretation corroborates with the assertions of UK Border Agency that the requirements for skilled immigrant migration into the UK do not recognize that migrants are merely a bundle of skills and not humans who could be having rights and moral values. Hence, the UK migration policies, present or future, falls short of a more holistic and sociological understanding of immigrants as humans with rights framed within a political and historical context. In other words, we argue that the UK’s immigration policy tend to tie the moral worth of immigrants to their economic productivity.

Even if we analyzed the entitlements bestowed to skilled immigrants by the current and future immigration policies, there are several considerations that can be made in regards to the conceptualization of citizenship and national identity. Considering the current and future immigration policies in the UK, Highly-skilled immigrants are initially granted a one-year temporary stay in the UK with a possibility of 3-year stay if they find suitable employment by the time of application. However, at this point, the highly skilled immigrants can also apply for a permanent settlement, that entails the same requirements as the application for citizenship (although the duration of stay varies). Consequently, our analysis raises the question of: on what basis is this group of immigrants granted the opportunity to apply for permanent residents after one year and thus be on the path to citizenship? It is possible to make an argument that the entry requirements for highly skilled immigrants i.e. proficiency in the English language, life in the UK and ability to politically, economically and civically integrate into the UK society could as well be satisfied by other types of immigrants. However, the government tends to judge them as incapable of gaining such entitlements. Alternatively, it is possible to argue that whereas the government is justified to grant residence on such normative terms, it is clear that this group of immigrants has largely been favored based on economic pre-selection criteria, thereby giving them an almost automatic roadmap to citizenship.

4.4. The impact of UK’s Points-Based immigration Policy, and the proposed future Skills-based immigration Policy on social growth and integration

From time immemorial, issues of cohesion and integration have dominated the UK’s immigration policy agenda, and can indeed not be neglected when discussing the social impacts of the UK’s point-based and skill-based systems of immigration. Historically, the issues were highlighted by the commission for integration and cohesion established in response to the 2005 London bombings. The published report presented immigration issues as one of the challenges to cohesion and integration among the British communities – compounded by political extremism.

Importantly, the commission outlined some of the factors that potentially hurt integration and among them were diversity and immigration. However, the commission also observed a correlation between cohesion and local area diversity, while the relationship between these variables was largely determined by local deprivation. While the commission also made reference to different types of immigration, the dominantly mentioned categories included skilled and unskilled economic immigrants rather than highly skilled immigrants.

Having said so, it is important to reiterate that the UK immigration system is increasingly getting skill-based. However, Rowtborn argues that the economic target of recruiting across the skills spectrum in the medium and long-term can be attributed to the increase in the number of undocumented immigrant workers, whom, by effect, are deprived of their basic membership and residence rights – a contradiction of the government’s quest for cohesion and integration.

We argue that even if the integration and cohesion report recommendations for tackling inequalities and social justice were considered, little attention has so far been given to the fact that even the current point-based immigration system perpetuates such inequalities. This argument is supported by Rowtborn who insists that the point-based system does not allow a sufficient number of immigrants semi-skilled and unskilled workers, and by effect contributes to the proliferation of undocumented immigrant workers.

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CHAPTER FIVE 5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations

This paper had three major objectives namely to identify the rationale behind the UK’s current and future immigration systems, to explore the impacts of these immigration policies on identity and citizenship, and lastly to identify how these policies impact on the social welfare and integration of immigrants in the UK. In regards to the first objective, the study has found that the point based-system of immigration was introduced when the UK’s job market and the social housing sector were said to be under constant pressure from large populations as a result of an excessive number of foreigners at the expense of the British citizens. Hence, the policy was basically introduced to bring austerity by curbing the numbers – i.e. cutting down non-EU migration as a result of being unable to restrict EU migration. on the other hand, in regards to the skill-based system: UK centered its policy discussions around the process of identifying which type if immigration policy could yield these expected economic benefits – and the skill-based system became the best option.

In regards to the impact of UK’s present and future immigration systems on citizenship and identity, the study has found that that the economic target of recruiting across the skills spectrum in the medium and long-term can be attributed to the increase in the number of undocumented immigrant workers, whom, by effect, are deprived of their basic membership and residence rights – a contradiction of the government’s quest for social cohesion and integration.

We recommend the need for a technical solution that enables immigrants to acquire the necessary skills, probably through an independent national body that oversees the social integration of immigrants by providing necessary information and services such as English language support and cultural briefings support. Furthermore, we recommended that employers should take the responsibility of facilitating immigrant worker’s integration by providing them with citizenship and English education classes, or by allowing them to access such facilities. However, we also acknowledge that these recommendations depict economic immigrants as people with some form of economic deficit which targets to address the problem of social integration from an individual perspective and to give the immigrants the onus of taking steps towards integrating into the community. We also opine that while implementing these recommendations, care should be taken not to categorize highly skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled immigrants without considering the interdependence of these categories into the future skill-based UK immigration system.

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