UK May Consider Preferential Treatment of EU Immigrants

The United Kingdom may backtrack on its earlier plans to seriously limit access to work visas for all immigrants to the country and make exceptions for EU countries' citizens, UK media reported Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The UK government is reportedly eyeing at least two possible post-Brexit immigration schemes, one of which allows EU citizens to freely study and travel in the United Kingdom but restricts their access to work visas. The other scheme stipulates permitting work visas for both skilled and unskilled EU workers with "emergency brakes' in case immigration levels exceed acceptable limits, The Guardian newspaper reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

The 'brakes' proposed by former UK Prime Minister David Cameron included the inaccessibility of some benefits for the EU newcomers who can only secure low-paid unskilled jobs.

Cameron's successor Theresa May is not, reportedly, in favor of the brakes system, but would not completely rule out using it.

On June 23, the majority of the UK voters chose to leave the European Union. The pro-Brexit campaign had relied heavily on denouncing the negative effects of the unsupportably high levels of the immigration in the UK and the unacceptability of the EU's basic principle of the free movement of people. The decision to leave the bloc has raised significant concerns not only over future immigrants but also over the EU citizens already living in the United Kingdom and the UK nationals residing in the EU.