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Migration Watch – an organisation that lobbies for stricter UK immigration controls – continues to spread anti-immigration propaganda. Migration Watch says that leaving the European Union would cut UK immigration numbers by 100,000.
The group estimates that net migration from the EU – which is the difference between the number of people entering and exiting the UK – would drop from 180,000 to 65,000 per year if the nation were to introduce work permits for EU citizens.
Hundreds of members of the National Front (NF) and other fascist and neo-Nazi organisations are currently in the Kent town of Dover this Saturday January 30, to demand that Britain's borders be closed to refugees and other migrants. In particular they oppose non-White immigration. According to reports from sources inside the Anti-Fascist Network (AFN) over 500 fascists plan to attend, making this one of the UK's largest fascist protests since the NF's heyday in the 80s.
The Engineer – a leading publication for the UK's manufacturing sector – says that new Tier 2 visa rules, due to take effect on April 6, 2016, will be harmful to the nation's manufacturing industry. In particular, The Engineer says UK immigration plans to introduce a higher salary threshold to gain permanent residence set at £35K, will lead to low income migrants having to leave the UK.
According to hospitals across the East of England, hundreds of foreign nurses are being denied Tier 2 Visas to work in hospitals because of Home Office rules concerning Tier 2 immigration. A response to a Freedom of Information request, submitted by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), confirmed that thousands of applications for Tier 2 Certificates of Sponsorship (COS) - lodged by NHS Trusts - have been rejected.
A new study puts the UK immigration system in seventh place for its ability to attract, develop and retain highly-skilled foreign workers. The Global Talent Competitiveness Index, a study carried out by the Adecco Group in partnership with international business school INSEAD and the Human Capital Leadership Institute, found that the UK had retained its 2014 place as the seventh most talent competitive nation in the world.
Many UK businesses have expressed concerns about the findings in the Migration Advisory Committee's (MAC) Tier 2 Visa review, published on 19 January 2016. The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), which represents the interests of civil engineering contractors registered in the UK, is particularly concerned about the MAC's recommendation for a Tier 2 immigration skills charge. The MAC Tier 2 visa review was ordered by Home Secretary Theresa May on 10 June 2015. Mrs May is known to favour a very restrictive UK immigration policy.