Global General

UK to reinstate temporary immigration cap

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-12-21 09:51

LONDON - Britain said on Monday it would reinstate a temporary cap on migrant workers from outside the European Union after it had fixed technical problems that led to a court declaring it illegal.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said the government would also be closing entry to skilled workers without a job offer from outside the EU as their quota of 5,400 visas was full.

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The interim cap, announced in July ahead of a permanent limit next April, will come back into force on Tuesday, Green said.

On Friday the High Court in London said the temporary cap was invalid because the government had not consulted parliament before its announcement.

The seven-month-old coalition government of Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to reduce immigration, which has led to social tensions and become a highly charged political issue.

But businesses have warned the government that limiting migration could drive up wage costs and hurt an economy which has just begun recovering from a deep recession.

The temporary cap limited the number of non-EU migrants to just over 24,000 before April 2011, a cut of five percent on last year.

The interim limit was intended to prevent a surge of foreign workers arriving before next April's permanent cap takes effect.

"Tomorrow I will be laying changes to the immigration rules which will set out the details the court required. This will enable us to reinstate the interim limits on a clear legal basis," Green told parliament.

"I can reassure the House (of Commons) that the policy of using these limits as part of our overall policy of reducing net migration is unchanged," Green added.

The court's ruling does not apply to the permanent limit coming into force from April.