Posted on 02/21/2008 6:25:05 PM PST by blam
Britain may abolish ancestry visa
By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 7:59pm GMT 21/02/2008
Britain is proposing to sever its historic ties to tens of thousands of Commonwealth nationals who have an automatic right through descent to live and work here.
The small print of this week’s Home Office green paper charting new pathways to citizenship suggests the ancestry visa might be abolished.
The visa enables people aged 17 or over whose grandparents were born in the UK to come for four years and eventually apply to stay.
It is used mainly by young Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans coming to Britain to work and as a base to explore Europe.
The ancestry provisions were introduced in 1972 after legislation the previous year overhauled Commonwealth citizenship rights
Those entering under the UK ancestry route have free access to the labour market on entry.
However, the Government is in the process of introducing a points-based system for work permits and tougher rules for obtaining citizenship.
The green paper says: "We need to decide whether a Commonwealth national’s ancestral connections to the UK are sufficient to allow them to come here to work without the need to satisfy a resident labour market test."
The paper, which is open for consultation, asks: '"Do you think the UK ancestry route should be abolished?"
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, Austin Mitchell, Labour MP for Great Grimsby, says the proposal shows a "contempt for the long historic associations between Britain, New Zealand and Australia."
He adds: "We should have serious doubts about the judgment of ministers and officials who are willing to stir up the feelings of bitterness and betrayal which will be provoked by their unthinking lack of concern for historic ties which so many of us value, here as well as there."
In 2006. around 8,500 ancestry visa holders came to the UK and around 20,000 Commonwealth citizens have applied for settlement since 2002 Mr Mitchell last night said he proposed to table a Commons motion to increase pressure on Ministers to drop the idea.
"What is happening here is that in a general rush to make ourselves European, we are trying to shrug off our Commonwealth commitments."
WOWWW Blam that something does that make Prince Phillip not citizens any more since he was Commonwealth citizen before he marry the Queen
That what I hear
They’re killing their own country.
The Brit Politicians will worry about negligible BS like this then let in gazillions of useless “Asians” who immediately go on the public dole and proceed to destroy the society at large.
Come on now, you know all of those shiftless Aussies were on the dole, blowing up trains and demanding Sharia law? Wait...
How stupid
The western civilized NZers and Aussies would be better immigrants than the 3rd world crowd and the moslems...
Good grief. This certainly is suicidal.
I suppose the Labour party is afraid that some of these old Brits might vote Conservative, unlike their good Muslim friends.
Philip was Greek
Unless there is some angle to start restricting immigration of
Muslim radicals the move is crazy.
One of my late-comer ancestors (to America) was born in England around 1745. Am I disqualified?
There is. If you look at the main body of the Green Paper (of which this is a minor detail in the small print) you'll see that's exactly what it's about. Whether it goes far enough is another matter. But remember this is only a Green Paper. Green Papers can and do change radically before becoming legislation.
Jeez. We'll take them. Welcome mates!
Bad idea.
All for toughing the rules re immigration, but this is just silly.
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