Leak suggests UK could end low-skilled EU immigration

LONDON The U.K. could restrict immigration by both low-skilled workers and EU nationals coming into Britain under a family-reunion rule, according to post-Brexit plans leaked to local media. A Home Office document obtained by the Guardian newspaper and published on Wednesday suggested the U.K. could end free movement “in its current form” and introduce a new immigration bill with stricter regulations. The document -- still unsigned by ministers -- proposes that after Brexit, which is expected to fall in March 2019, all newly arrived EU migrants will lose their rights to permanent residency unless they are deemed to be highly skilled. Instead, they will become temporary workers with a maximum two-year permit. The proposals show the U.K. government is considering ending the free movement of labor immediately after Brexit but would prioritize highly-skilled EU workers who apply to live and work in Britain. It also suggests redefining reunion rules to restrict the number of EU citizens’ family members who want to come and reside in the country, signaling that rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on family reunion matters will no longer be binding. The U.K. government intends to define family members as “direct family members”, which will just include partners, children under 18 and adult-dependent relatives. The changes, if enacted, would be phased in according to the document. An initial phase will involve the introduction of an immigration bill within the pre-Brexit term; it will then be followed by an implementation period of “at least two years”; and a final phase, when stricter new rules will be put in place. “The government will take a view on the economic and social needs of the country as regards migration, rather than leaving this decision entirely to EU citizens and their employers,” the leaked paper reads. The rights of EU citizens living in the U.K. and Britons residing in EU member states are already a flashpoint in Brexit talks, despite statements from both sides that the citizens’ rights should not be used as a bargaining chip in Brexit negotiations. The U.K. decided to leave the EU in June 2016 and it is expected to end its 44-year membership of the bloc in March 2019 following the completion of negotiations with the EU.