Temporary migration rule to be tightened

Tens of thousands of migrants will no longer be allowed to settle in the UK under Government plans to clamp down on those abusing temporary visas to stay permanently, Immigration Minister Damian Green has said.

The UK needs to be “more selective about who we allow to stay”, Mr Green said. He told MPs a clearer distinction was needed between temporary and permanent routes into the UK.

The number of people granted settlement in the UK reached an all-time high in the 12 months to last September, up 35 per cent from the previous year to 238,950 – the most since records began in 1960, Home Office figures showed.

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“We intend to break the automatic link between coming to the UK to work and settling here permanently,” Mr Green said.

Skilled workers from outside the EU, predominantly as a means of filling short-term skills shortages, “should expect to leave the UK after a maximum of five years”.

“In future, only a tightly controlled minority will be permitted to stay permanently, where it is in the interests of the UK to do so,” Mr Green said.