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Migrant Workers: Employment

Volume 709: debated on Tuesday 24 March 2009

Question

Asked by

To ask Her Majesty's Government what results they expect from the European Union blue card entry system for highly skilled entrants from third countries, and what proportion of entrants they expect to apply to be United Kingdom entry under the new tier two provisions. [HL2180]

The United Kingdom has not opted into the directive on the entry and residence of third country nationals for the purpose of highly qualified employment. It is not possible for the Government to reliably predict how many of those admitted onto the territory of another member state as the holder of a blue card issued under the terms of the directive will subsequently apply for admission to the United Kingdom under the points-based system, or which tier of the points-based system they would seek to access. However, since the UK has not opted into the directive, any such worker would need to meet the full criteria of the points-based system in the same way as a person seeking admission from outside the European Union.