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New British Prime Minister David Cameron says he will impose an annual limit on the number of non-EU immigrants admitted into Britain, a report says.
According to All Headline News (AHN), the cap on the number of immigrants coming into Britain is likely to affect Indian professionals along with trade and industry in the country.
The Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats had already agreed on the issue in principal, but the coalition government released the full text of the official agreement on May 21.
The government's newly launched coalition program seeks to impose "new measures to minimize abuse of the immigration system, for example via student routes, and will tackle human trafficking as a priority," although it believes "immigration has enriched our culture and strengthened our economy," AHN reported.
The Conservative Party hopes the new policy will reduce the total number of immigrants to Britain, which now stands at around 150,000, to the level of the 1990s, around 70,000.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 4.9 million people who live in Britain, 8.3 percent of the total population, were born overseas. This is more than double the 2.1 million (4.2 percent) in 1951.
The number of people leaving the UK for 12 months or more reached a record high in 2008, with an estimated 427,000 people emigrating. This was up from 341,000 in 2007 and 398,000 in 2006. This rise was as a result of a 50 per cent increase in
non-British citizens emigrating from 169,000 in 2007 to 255,000 in 2008. Just over half of the 86,000 increase were citizens of the
A8 Accession countries which joined the EU in 2004.
An estimated 590,000 people arrived to live in the UK in 2008, the second highest figure on record after 596,000 in 2006. This compared with 574,000 in 2007 and represents a continuation of the level of immigration seen since 2004. Of all immigrants 505,000 (86 per cent) were non-British citizens in 2008.
Net migration, the difference between immigration and emigration, decreased from 233,000 in 2007 to 163,000 as a result of increased emigration.
BORDER CONTROL
• In Q4 2009, the overall number of visas issued was 423,595, an increase of 16 per
cent compared with Q4 2008 (364,060). 375,040 were issued to main applicants
and 48,555 to dependants.
ASYLUM
• The number of applications for asylum, excluding dependants, was 30 per cent
lower in Q4 2009 (4,765) compared with Q4 2008 (6,775).
• In Q4 2009, 6,400 initial asylum decisions were made, excluding dependants, an
increase of 36 per cent compared with Q4 2008 (4,700). 77 per cent of initial
decisions were refusals, 13 per cent were grants of asylum and 10 per cent were
grants of Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave.
ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE
• In Q4 2009, 16,340 persons were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK, 3
per cent lower than in Q4 2008 (16,820). There was a fall of 8 per cent to 2,605 for
those leaving who had claimed asylum (including dependants) and a decrease of 2
per cent to 13,735 for non-asylum cases.