Minister under fire over highly skilled migra

Campaigners have hit out at UK immigration minister Liam Byrne over his perceived inaction over pledges to consider reversing changes to the highly skilled migrant programme (HSMP).

According to the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), the new HSMP restrictions are "discriminatory" and the agency has sent a letter to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) and Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) about the issue.

An estimated 30,000 Indians who came to the UK as part of the scheme may now be forced to return to India with their families because of changes made to the HSMP by the British government.

Amit Kapadia, director of the HSMP Forum, told Personnel Today that the organisation has been waiting since March for a response from Mr Byrne about the HSMP.

"The HSMP Forum will continue to strive to attain removal of the retrospective changes and we hope the new prime minister and home secretary would look into the matter to stop such unfair treatment of HSMP holders," he stated.

Having found that the changes to the HSMP disadvantage ethnic minorities and those from outside the European Economic Area (EEA), the CRE is now calling on the Border and Immigration Agency to clarify its position by July.

Implemented in November 2006, the controversial changes altered the rules for permanent settlement and extension of visas, altering the status of thousands of workers in Britain.

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Date:08/06/2007 11:44:17