January 16th 2011 - "Vince Cable calms Indian fears over UK immigration cap'"
Source - The Telegraph by Richard Tyler
Business Secretary Vince Cable will use the first speech on his latest trade mission to India to tackle Indian business concerns over the UK's
immigration controls. Vince Cable has sought to calm Indian business fears that Britain remains closed to Indian investment because of the
new cap on non-EU migration..
The Business Secretary will use his first speech on a trade mission to Mumbai on Monday to confirm that the UK remains open for business.
Mr Cable led calls to water down the migrant cap, which will be introduced in April, so that it does not catch skilled non-EU migrants transferring
between UK and non-UK subsidiaries. He will tell a business audience at the Confederation of Indian Industry: “I recognise there have been concerns
expressed in some quarters in India that changes to British rules on migration might be detrimental to Indian firms, but I would like to state for the
record that the Government has exempted Intra-Company Transfers from the annual limit which comes into effect in April.”
He added: “We welcome the role which Indian workers play to the UK economy and, of course, the massive contributions made by the Indian
delegation in the UK.”
David Cameron has said that immigration can be cut by tens of thousands a year without damaging the economy and originally wanted
intra-company transfers to be included in the permanent annual cap of 21,700, a cut of 6,300 on the equivalent figure for 2009, that takes effect in April.
However, this was dropped last autumn following lobbying by a wide range of businesses, from banks and law firms to carmakers. In
future such migrants will be allowed to stay for up to five years if their salary exceeds £40,000. Companies are also being allowed to bring members of
their staff to work in the UK for a year if the job is in information or communication technology and the salary is over £24,000.
Altogether 22,000 employees came to work in the UK via intra-company transfers in 2009.
In his second visit to India as Business Secretary, Mr Cable will also set out how the Government is “committed to India” and is “working
hard to get that message to British companies” that opportunities exist in low carbon technologies, including nuclear, infrastructure, and education. He will
also highlight Indian investment in the UK, pointing to the fact that of the 1,200 Indian companies based in Europe, 700 are based in the UK.
“Many of India’s leading engineering and life sciences companies have invested in the UK, such as Tata Motors and Tata Steel, Bharat Forge,
Mahindra & Mahindra and Biocon,” he will say. “There is also an increase in investment in sectors such as financial services, creative, retail and renewable
energy – and I would reiterate here today Britain’s openness to investment.”
For further information on the above or any other UK Immigration Advice please contact Visa Specialits info@amblercollins for a free initial
assessment of your circumstances
If you have further enquires on immigration to the UK, Singapore, Australia or the USA, please contact Ambler Collins Visa Specialists and we will undertake
a complimentary assessment of your eligibility. Email us at; info@amblercollins.com
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