Plans to Scrap UK Ancestry Visa

As some of you may know, I spent three of the last four years living and working in the UK, under an Ancestry Visa. My grandfather was born in Lancashire and because of this I was able to live unrestricted there for four years. At the end of this, if I'd wanted to, I could have applied for residency. As the story went, I didn't want to stay there, and after spending a year living it up predominantly in the Czech Republic, I'm now back in Syders grinding out an 8 to 4 living teaching English to those who can't. It's a good job, but yes, sometimes I still get the wish that I was somewhere else.

So it was with mixed feelings that I read today about proposed changes to immigration laws in the UK. The idea is to introduce a points-based immigration system, perhaps similar to ours here in Australia.

My first reaction was that the idea was a load of rubbish, but as I thought about it my reaction changed somewhat. Part of the idea, i think is to "select migrants with in-demand skills in shortage in the existing workforce, while closing the door on unskilled workers from outside the European Union." That doesn't sound so unreasonable really. There is high enough unemplyment in the UK and Europe in general that it's not really necessary for Australians, Kiwis and Saffas to be living it up in all the bar, construction and nannying jobs. Those who go there with skills (more than I did) should still be able to gain entry.

And anyway, this 'tradition' of going to London, of doing the European Circuit (Pampalona, Octoberfest, Gallipoli) is getting to be a bit of a joke. It's possible to live in London for years and years and know and socialise with only Australians. Is earning the pound really that important? I'm no saint, nor am I the most adventurous of buggers, but I still avoided 'antipodean hotspots' like the plague.

And another thing. The system as it is is already being widely abused. The Inland Revenue (taxation fellows) have no clear communication channels with Immigration - I know a guy who went initially on a 2 year working holdiay visa (where you're not supposed to do professional work) and he ended up staying six years, paying tax the whole way through.

Yes, the UK does need a revamp of its immigration laws. Whether they need to scrap the ancestry visa thing is another matter, the number of people travelling on it would have to be decreasing year after year.