Labour's policies on asylum and immigration

Why Labour?

We want a firm but fair system for immigration. Carefully controlled migration brings undoubted benefits to our country but we also recognise people’s legitimate concerns about the impact it can have on communities if not properly managed. For this reason we are committed to delivering the biggest changes to our immigration, citizenship and border security systems for decades. We will bring forward a system which benefits Britain, in which people can have confidence, which protects the security of the United Kingdom, prevents abuse of our laws, and is fair to both legal migrants and the British public.

Our tough but flexible new Australian-style Points-Based System will allow us to be more selective about who we let in, ensuring that only those with the skills that we need to build a stronger economy can come here. Together with our Earned Citizenship plans for newcomers, this will reduce overall numbers of economic migrants coming to Britain, and the numbers awarded permanent settlement.

Britain has a long tradition of providing a safe haven to those in need. We are proud of this history and we will continue to provide a place of refuge for the oppressed and those legitimately seeking asylum and the security of our care. We are steadfast in our determination to tackle the horrendous crime of people-trafficking and will continue to work both at home and with our European partners to end this horrific crime that trades on human misery.

Key Achievements:

• Asylum applications for the last three months of 2009 were the lowest since the early 1990’s. We are making and enforcing decisions quickly with the majority of asylum cases concluded within 6 months.
• We have more than doubled the number of immigration officers at the border, implemented a single border force with new powers to guard our ports and airports, introduced biometric visas and ID cards for foreign nationals and enforcement of Britain’s border controls now starts overseas with fingerprint checks before visas are issued .
• We are taking tough enforcement action against illegal migrants and we are removing newcomers who break the law. In 2008, a person was removed or departed voluntarily on average every 8 minutes, including record numbers of foreign criminals.
• Rogue employers now face civil penalties of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker they employ. Those found to have knowingly hired illegal workers can incur an unlimited fine and be sent to prison.
• Introduced compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals who come here to work or study.
• Ratified the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking, strengthening the UK’s ability to catch the criminals that exploit victims of trafficking and underlining our long-term commitment to tackle this horrific crime.

A future fair for all:

Labour’s vision of the future is of a firm but fair system, one which is good for Britain, protects our borders and where fair rules apply to all. So we will oversee the biggest changes to our immigration systems for decades:

• A new Australian-style Points Based System will allow us to be more selective so that only those with the skills that we need to build a stronger economy can come here
• Introduce a points-based system for permanent residence and citizenship clearly spelling out the rights and obligations of legal migrants to Britain, as well as the requirements for earning British citizenship. These requirements will include learning English, paying tax and obeying the law– because we believe its fair that those who look to build a new life here should earn the right to do so
• Enforcing strict penalties against immigrants or their employers if they break the rules, including the establishment of new partnerships between local authorities and enforcement agencies to gather intelligence, disrupt illegal activity and track down illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers.
• Increase the rate of removal of illegal migrants and failed asylum seekers and further expand our detention estate
• Help communities manage migration at a local level including the Migration Impacts Fund, paid for by an extra levy on new migrants as they enter our country, which will help lessen the short-term impacts on local communities new migration can have.
• Changes to how housing is allocated so that councils can choose to give greater priority to those who have been on the waiting lists the longest, those with local of family connections, or those needing support to take up or remain in low paid employment among other things.
• To ensure fairness we will insist that employers must advertise skilled jobs to resident workers through JobCentre Plus for four weeks before they can bring in a worker from outside Europe.