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06th Sep 2017

Leaked Brexit documents reveal the UK’s plans for a ‘hard Brexit’

Some big changes.

Alan Loughnane

The news broke late last night.

An 82-page document leaked from the British Home Office to The Guardian and it outlines Britain’s immigration plans following Brexit.

The leaked document shows how ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice will affect immigration in the UK.

The document says that changes to immigration will take place over a period of at least two years, in three phases. The first phase, prior to Brexit, will involve the introduction of an immigration bill. This will be followed by an implementation period and the final stage will see the new rules being put into place.

Plans to limit the number of low-skilled workers entering the country are also implied in the paper, with the document suggesting that permits to work in the UK for longer than three years will be reserved only for those with high expertise.

The plans will also tighten the policies on family members moving to the UK and it could limit them to just dependent relatives and children under 18.

There will be changes regarding the UK’s borders as well because the paper states that EU citizens will have to show their passports when entering the UK and that the government will end free movement in its current form after the UK leaves the EU.

An UK first policy seems to be prevalent throughout the document.

“Put plainly, this means that, to be considered valuable to the country as a whole, immigration should benefit not just the migrants themselves but also make existing residents better off,” the document reads.

The paper makes it clear that the proposals suggested within it have yet to be endorsed by ministers and that all policies are subject to negotiations with the EU.