By Vittorio Hernandez

London, England, United Kingdom

Britain plans to shut down the family access immigration route in a bid to reduce the number of migrants entering the United Kingdom from outside the European Union.

To close that path, British Prime Minister David Cameron will extend the probationary period for spouses to five from the current two years to settle in the country.

Family migration is almost one fifth of the total non-EU immigration to Britain in 2010 when almost 50,000 visas were granted to family members of British citizens and permanent residents.

Cameron will acknowledge that wanting to move with loved ones is a human instinct, but to qualify for a visa the family members must speak English and be able to contribute to British society instead of being a burden to society.

The measure is part of legislative changes that Cameron is seeking to put in place to return jobs to Britons and tighten the country's borders.

Another measure is to hike the minimum salary from the current $30,000 (₤20,000) a year that non-EU migrant workers must earn to be allowed entry to Britain. Based on a check of 500 family migration cases, over 70 percent of the non-EU migrants who sponsored visas for their families had income below the proposed threshold, which place the newcomers at the risk of adding to welfare recipients.

Cameron initially wanted to mandate British companies to publish a list of migrants employed by the firms with the aim of shaming the enterprises into giving employment preference for locals, but made a U-turn from the policy because of opposition from industry that it would be an added regulatory burden to them.

To support Cameron's tough immigration measures, Home Office Secretary Theresa May wants to change the country's immigration rules to facilitate the deportation of foreign nationals who brought their families into the U.K.

However, observers said May's proposal has little chances of becoming a law because it violates Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which is the right to family life. Previous EU court decisions have established a clear balance between that right and interest of the community to protect citizens from threats such as criminal behavior.

 

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World - Britain Shuts Down Family Access Immigration Route | Global Viewpoint