Interior Ministry data shows a radical decline in immigrants from the EU
The United Kingdom’s new immigration policy has resulted in a major increase in the number of visas granted to Asian workers and a radical reduction in those of European Union countries, according to data published by the Home Office for the period between the months of June 2021 and 2022. These data make it possible to avoid migration disruptions during the pandemic.
The government issued 331,233 visas for qualified workers to whom UK companies offered a minimum wage of €32,000 a year, or lower salaries for professionals in specific sectors requiring staff, such as healthcare or education. The total figure includes temporary visas, mainly focused on agricultural crops.
Nearly half of the visas, 46%, were granted to citizens of Indian descent, followed by Nigerians and Filipinos. Before the Brexit referendum, those from the EU accounted for 71% of immigrants to the UK, and now they account for 12% of those benefiting from a work visa. Before January 31, 2020, EU citizens were not required to apply for a visa.
Spain ranks twelfth in the ranking of the number of visas for skilled workers -1.690-, less than Italy, Germany or France; and nineteenth in storms, 598. In this category, Ukrainians benefit most from permits to work on crops, followed by citizens of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In terms of student visas, China stands out (107,494), followed by India (90,574) and Nigeria (33,547). There are 3,615 Spaniards.
The ‘Asianization’ of the university population goes hand in hand with that of the National Health Service (NHS), where since 2016 there has been a slight decrease in EU professionals and an increase in the percentage of staff from the Philippines due to the need to cover 100,000 vacant places, in a public service that maintains these numbers of lack of staff since at least 2018. More than 5,000 Spaniards work in the NHS.
A study by the Oxford University Migration Observatory analyzed the effect of the end of freedom of movement for community workers on the British labor market. In the field of public health, the number of EU workers increased between June 2019 and June 2021. It also increased in construction and transport; and it fell 25% in the hotel industry.
The analysis points out that the pandemic has caused staffing problems in several sectors in different countries and concludes that, while the departure of workers from the EU may have had an impact on some sectors based on cheap labor – as is often the case in the hotel industry – is not the root cause of the problems.
The UK population comprises 14% of residents who come from abroad. According to OECD data, this is the same percentage as in Spain or the United States. Net immigration doesn’t seem to have changed from alarming numbers to Brexiteers. Since his victory in 2016, the geographical composition of immigrants has changed.
Source: La Verdad
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