London Mayor Boris Johnson recently called for Brits to encourage more immigration from Commonwealth nations.
His statement comes after a report by Commonwealth Exchange revealed that, while immigration from EU countries is on the rise, those coming from Commonwealth nations such as Australia, Canada and South Africa has more than halved over the last 10 years.
The report cites poor immigration policy, lack of visa reforms and discrimination as the main cause for the dramatic drop in people arriving in the UK from Commonwealth nations and suggests that the UK is missing out on a large amount of economic and cultural benefits as a result.
“We should welcome the brightest and the best from a wider range of countries,” Johnson stated in his forward to the report.
“As we re-examine our relationship with the EU we have a vital opportunity to recast our immigration system in just this way.
“And the first place to start is with the Commonwealth.”
Boris as well as the report have suggested that the youth mobility visa, which allows people from New Zealand, Canada, Australia Japan, Taiwan and Monaco who are under the age 31, to live and work in the UK for up to two years, should be extended to include all Commonwealth nations.
In addition, the report also supports Johnson’s idea to have a ‘bilateral mobility zone’ between New Zealand, Australia and the UK which will allow people to travel freely between the nations to live and work.
Tim Hewish, executive director of Commonwealth Exchange, said: “The UK’s visa system is broken and needs urgent reform. On the one hand we have free movement of people from the EU, on the other we impose heavy restrictions on the Commonwealth. That means the UK is effectively cutting itself off from a market and the talents of 2.3 billion people, many of whom share our language and values.”
Director of the Migrants Rights Network Don Flynn stated that while he welcomes reforms to immigration policy he was concerned about some of the limitations that the Boris’ proposal has.
“If you look at the Commonwealth the real potentially interesting developments actually come from the possibility of being able to engage with the Caribbean, African or Asian Commonwealth countries, where the access to the UK labour markets might be a sphere to economic development back in their home countries.
“That would be a far greater benefit than the marginal benefits that would come from having free movement between Canada and the UK or Australia and the UK”.
