Britain to cut immigration to 1/3 of current level
15:41
British Prime Minister Theresa May plans to reduce the level of net migration to the UK to less than 100,000 people a year, which is three time lower than the present level, according to a document released on Tuesday by the British Cabinet Office.
The document states that May has set up a committee on curbing immigration. It aims to reduce the level of net migration to tens of thousands through implementation of migration controls, the introduction of an effective and precise visa system, and hindering the inflow of illegal immigrants.
However, introducing visas for EU citizens would be incompatible with continued UK membership in the internal EU market. Economists also warn that this would have negative consequences for the economy, cutting access to workers from the continent.
Since 2004, the number of UK residents born outside the country rose from 5.3 million (9 percent of the population) to 8.3 million (13 percent). As of the end of 2015, a record number of Poles were living in Britain – 916,000, which is 63,000 more than in 2014.
