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Before the UK leaves the EU it is important for the UK to understand what skills shortages will arise. The regional visa could provide an evidence based approach and kick-start the much needed research and dialogue between business and government to truly understand the UK’s skills shortages and immigration needs.
Further, by allowing the regions to control immigration this will recognise the fact that the needs of London and Yorkshire will differ dramatically. Whilst all regions will have to adhere to the same overall requirement criteria set by the Home Office they will be allowed to control the numbers of migrants and the skills they require for their region. This flexibility will allow regions to meet local labour needs for a range of jobs, both medium and lower skilled, transient and longer term. The report will focus upon how this system could be implemented in practice. In addition, we have undertaken a global analysis and identified some countries that have implemented migration systems tied to regions.
It is important to note that not all international moves are to address a skills deficit. Multinational companies recognise the benefits of diverse cultures and encourage overseas secondments to ensure they retain the best talent and remain competitive globally. This report does not address this issue and is focused upon the mechanics of implementing a regional visa system specifically to address skills shortages This report also does not include students, refugees or visitors.
A regional visa could present an opportunity for the UK to have a nuanced immigration system that successfully meets the requirements of UK business and economy post Brexit. Economies that are dependent on a single city hub are less resilient to global economic shocks1 . A regional visa system could facilitate and promote economic development outside of London.
If the current visa system were extended to EU migrants, research suggests that three quarters of the EU workforce in the UK would not meet these requirements. Sectors such as health and construction have high proportions of EU migrants, many of whom would not meet the stringent salary and skills requirements under the existing visa system2 . This could result in skills shortages in these areas. Conversely, tailoring visa requirements to local areas could open up job applications to a wider pool of applicants from around the world. [...]