Immigration Bill 2015: Who will be affected

                               

The Immigration bill has passed it's second reading in the House of Commons and is now being sent to a Public Bill Committee. It received 323 votes to 274 with considerable opposition from Labour, Lib Dem and SNP MPs. Speaking of the large number of immigration changes that have been made since Theresa May has become Home Secretary they argued that it will not reduce illegal immigration and will damage social cohesion. See how this may affect various category of people after the cut...

Workers

Those who are found working illegally in England and Wales could face up to six months in jail. The police would be able to seize wages as 'proceeds of crime'. This will largely include off-licences and takeaway restaurants, barber shops, hair salons, cash and carry's and small scale bars that employ illegal migrants and possibly cab operators and drivers, industries which are largely supported by the African community.

There will also be a duty on public authorities to ensure that public sector workers in public-facing roles can speak fluent English. Public sector jobs will require fluent English language or else will be barred by public authorities.

Businesses

The legal defence for businesses employing illegal migrants is set to change. Instead of claiming that they did not know their employees were illegal, businesses will have to carry out proper checks before employing people, with civil penalties being raised. The jail sentence for employers found guilty will be raised from 2 years to 5 years in addition to fines in place.

In addition, the UK will introduce an immigration skills charge for employers who preferentially employ skilled migrants from abroad. This visa levy on businesses was created to further enforce the Labour Resident Market Test. This test ensures that any migrant hired is not taking the job of a UK resident with similar skills.

Families

All immigration appeals and judicial reviews are subject to deport first, appeal later measures with the right to private and family life appeals included. This means many included will face removal from the UK despite an outstanding appeal to their case. This process is likely to be practically difficult and is likely to separate families further.

With banks, police, DVLA and landlords given new powers to check immigration status, families could easily find various aspects of their life surveilled. With many legally staying in the UK but unable to prove a ‘right to rent’, families also risk being mistakenly evicted.

Students

May in her speech at the Conservative Party Conference argued 'Students, yes; over-stayers, no. universities must make this happen.'

Those students found working when a person 'has no leave' or when work or a specific type of work is not allowed will be liable to imprisonment and/or a fine as well as in many cases, immigration sanctions.

Employers under Tier 2 or Tier 5 sponsors may be deterred from employing recent graduates due to the immigration skills charge (visa levy) when they sponsor individuals. The codes of practice for this are not published yet so the level of the charge and exemptions from this are not yet known.

Source: here