British Prime Minister Theresa May has long said the free movement of labor will have to end, but a new document reveals how. The Home Office has proposed a two-tier system for European Union citizens.
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Britain intends to end the free movement of labor immediately after it exits the European Union and to place restrictions on lower-skilled EU migrants, according to a leaked government document published by The Guardian newspaper on Tuesday.
The 82-page Home Office draft document marked "sensitive" reveals detailed proposals to manage migration after Brexit and its plan to prioritize British labor.
"Put plainly, this means that, to be considered valuable to the country as a whole, immigration should benefit not just the migrants themselves but also make existing residents better off," the document says.
The document details a two-tier system for EU citizens arriving after Brexit, with lower-skilled workers limited to two-year residence permits. Highly skilled workers would be eligible for residence permits for three to five years under the proposals.
The proposals also "tighten up" the definition of family members allowed to accompany EU workers in Britain, limiting it to partners, children under 18 and adult dependent relatives.
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Two phases
EU leaders agreed to negotiating guidelines during a summit in April 2017 that divided the divorce talks into two phases. Phase I, in which both sides aimed to settle the basic terms of Britain's departure, started in July and ended with an agreement on "sufficient progress" in December. Officials are now holding Phase II negotiations on the post-Brexit relationship between Britain and the EU.
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The "Brexit Bill"
London agreed to a formula for calculating what it owes in its "divorce bill" to the EU in early December after months of haggling by British officials. The current EU budget expires in 2022 and EU officials have said the divorce bill will cover financial obligations Britain had committed to before triggering article 50. The final bill will reportedly total around £50 billion (€67 billion).
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Citizens' rights
Both sides agreed in early December that the 3 million EU citizens currently in Britain and the 1.1 million British citizens in the EU keep their residency rights after Brexit. British courts will have immediate jurisdiction over EU citizens living in Britain. But the EU's highest court, the ECJ, can hear cases until 2027 if British judges refer unclear cases to them.
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The Irish border
Britain and the EU also agreed in December that no border checks between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland would return post-Brexit. How feasible the commitment will be is unclear, as Britain's commitment to leaving the EU Single Market and Customs Union makes it difficult to avoid customs checks at the Irish border.
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Transition period
Theresa May envisages a two-year transition period after March 2019. Both sides still have to hash out the details of the transition period in Phase II, including the exact end-date, whether new EU laws passed during the period will apply to Britain, and whether Britain can negotiate its own free trade deals. British officials hope to agree on the terms of the transition by March 2018.
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Trade
May has repeatedly said Britain will leave the European Single Market and the EU Customs Union. Leaving both could disrupt British-EU trade, but allow Britain to negotiate its own free trade deals and restrict EU migration — key demands by pro-Brexit politicians. London has said it wants to negotiate a new EU-UK trade deal during Phase II to minimize trade disruption before March 2019.
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Immigration
Britain has also vowed to restrict EU migration into Britain after Brexit. However, some British lawmakers are wary that a sharp drop in immigration could lead to shortfalls in key sectors, including health, social care and construction. The EU has warned that Single Market access is out of the question if London decides to restrict the ability of its citizens to live and work in Britain.
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Security
Recent terror attacks across Europe including a string in Britain underline both sides' support for continued security cooperation after March 2019. But access to EU institutions such as Europol and programs such as the European Arrest Warrant require compliance with EU laws. Whether Britain will still be compliant after it leaves is unclear.
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All EU citizens would be required to travel on a passport rather than the national identity cards that are currently allowed.
The Guardian said the document had been circulated to senior officials and ministers but had not yet been endorsed by Prime Minister Theresa May's top team of ministers.
The UK government told news agencies it did not comment on leaked documents.
"We will be setting out our initial proposals for a new immigration system which takes back control of the UK's borders later in the autumn," a government spokesman said.
May previously said the free movement of labor would have to end when Britain leaves the bloc, but the new document offers new detail on what kind of immigration system the government envisions.
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Preferred treatment for EU citizens
The proposals hint at the idea of EU citizens having preferred treatment over their non-EU counterparts. "The future immigration regime for EU citizens will not necessarily be the same as the existing one for non-EU nationals. For example, we may wish to operate a preferential arrangement as part of any negotiated deal with the EU, either temporarily or permanently," the document reads.
But the focus remains on letting British citizens fill job vacancies by encouraging training and requiring businesses to undergo an economic means test before hiring foreign talent.
"We will continue to encourage employers to invest in training and fill skills gaps within the resident UK workforce and take a longer-term view of this investment, ensuring that we continue to have a competitive edge in the globalized world," the draft document reads.
