Key Facts

• The new clause requires a Minister of the Crown to lay a report before each House of Parliament.
• The report must consider the impact on EEA and Swiss nationals regarding no recourse to public funds under Immigration Rules.
• It also addresses NHS charging for EEA and Swiss nationals, granting citizenship to health and social care workers during the pandemic, removing fees for applications, processes and services for EEA and Swiss nationals.
• The government aims to introduce a points-based immigration system from January 1, 2021.
• Applications for the EU Settlement Scheme must be made by June 30, 2021.
• The Government will take a flexible and pragmatic approach towards late applications if there are reasonable grounds for missing the deadline.
• The list of situations that allow for reasonable grounds for missing the deadline will not be exhaustive.
• Local authorities are expected to make efforts to register children in their care for the scheme.
• The Government is working on developing regulations under section 7 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act to provide temporary protection during the grace period until June 2021.
• The proposed new clause aims to amend section 38 of the Immigration Act 2014.
• Healthcare worker includes those in clinical administration staff and care home staff within and outside the NHS.
• Social care workers are defined according to section 55(2) of the Care Standards Act 2000.
• The immigration health surcharge was introduced in 2014 at £400 per year for most applicants, increased to £624 starting October.
• A five-year tier 2 visa applicant will pay over £3,000 in health charges upfront.
• People applying for leave to remain based on long residence face repeated applications and fees of up to £10,300 per person.
• The surcharge is described as regressive, falling unfairly on migrants compared to citizens or settled individuals.
• The Labour party is undertaking significant work with colleagues in the health team about the subject.
• Lord Patten described the NHS surcharge as “appalling, immoral and monstrous” on May 21st.
• Donna Kinnair, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, expressed a shame it took this pandemic for the government to see sense.
• Nearly 10% of doctors, 8% of social care staff, and 6% of nurses working in the UK are from the EEA.
• The immigration health charge raised approximately £900 million for the NHS from its introduction in 2015 to the end of the 2018-19 financial year.
• EEA citizens who are resident in the UK before the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 are not subject to the immigration health charge.
• NHS and care workers will be exempted from the charge once a points-based system is implemented.
• New Clause 13 aims to ensure no person exercising rights removed by Schedule 1 is charged a registration fee higher than the processing cost.
• New Clause 36 requires parliamentary approval for changes to immigration fees, including entry/remain applications and sponsorship licenses.
• New Clause 37 mandates parliamentary consent for any changes in citizenship application fees.
• New clauses 36 and 37 aim to challenge the high fees for immigration and citizenship applications.
• New clause 13 addresses a profound injustice regarding access to British citizenship due to excessive fees.
• Many children and adults have been denied their right to British citizenship because of the Home Office's fee policy.
• The Home Office made a profit of up to 800% from immigration applications for families, with current fees being £1,012 for children and £1,206 for adults.
• In 2018-19, the charging framework across border, immigration and citizenship products and services generated £1.98 billion in income.
• The Immigration Health Surcharge ensures that temporary migrants contribute to NHS sustainability.
• New clause 13 aims to limit fees for British citizenship applications to processing costs.
• New clause 13(2) aims to prevent the Secretary of State from charging fees for children receiving local authority assistance.
• Local authority assistance includes a broad range of support measures beyond just care orders or voluntary agreements.
• Any child looked after by their local authority can apply for leave to remain without paying application fees.
• New clause 13 aims to remove fees for British citizenship registration for children of free movement rights holders unable to afford fees.
• Subsection (4) of new clause 13 requires the Secretary of State to inform individuals about their right to apply for British citizenship under the 1981 Act.
• The immigration health surcharge and skills charge are set by Parliament through legislation, not to be altered by proposed clauses.
• The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 is proposed to be amended.
• The new clause would allow individuals to seek legal aid for advice on entering or remaining in the UK under the EU settlement scheme.
• In Scotland, some people can get assistance funding from the Scottish Legal Aid Board.
• The new clause would amend Section 24B of the Immigration Act 1971.
• The Immigration Act 2016 made illegal work a crime with a maximum sentence of six months and a fine at the statutory maximum.
• Concerns were raised about exploitation and modern slavery due to the criminalisation of illegal working.
• New Clause 16 would establish an Immigration Rules Advisory Committee.
• The committee's function is to provide advice and assistance to the Secretary of State regarding relevant Immigration Rules for EEA and Swiss nationals.
• The Immigration Act 1971 will be amended.
• Any changes affecting EEA or Swiss nationals must follow the super affirmative procedure.
• A 60-day period is provided for representations and parliamentary scrutiny.
• New clause 16 aims to change how immigration rule making is done.
• New clause 30 would enable MPs to debate and vote on immigration rules at least a couple of times a year.
• Immigration policy-making in the UK has been declared 'not fit for purpose' by former Home Secretaries.
• Kevin Foster is the Minister for Future Borders and Immigration.
• The UK Government operates under collective responsibility, where all policies are collectively agreed upon.
• New clause 31 would not add anything to the Bill as it aligns with existing practices of governmental consensus.
• New clause 16 seeks an additional layer of scrutiny via an immigration rules advisory committee which is unnecessary given the MAC's role.
• New clause 30 aims to address Parliament's role in immigration policy.
• New clause 16 proposes simplifying and providing detailed advice on changes to the immigration rules.
• New clause 19 seeks to provide physical proof of settled status through paper certificates.
• The largest survey by the3million found that 89% of EEA citizens are unhappy about lacking physical proof of their status.
• A WannaCry cyber-attack caused 19,000 cancelled NHS appointments in less than two years ago.
• 85% of migrant emails requesting online identity checks from landlords received no response.
• The EU settlement scheme emails everyone granted status a PDF document.
• Countries are moving towards digital checks through online sharing of immigration status information.
• Employers and landlords will be able to accept the passports and national identity cards of EEA citizens until June 30, 2021.
• After June 30, 2021, EEA citizens with settlement scheme status must share their status online to prove rights in the UK.
• New clause 49 makes the coming into force of the Act conditional on publishing an impact assessment.
• The new clause requires consultation with relevant Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Ireland Ministers.
• An independent evaluation of the Act's effects on health and social care workforce is proposed in new clause 61.
• The Migration Advisory Committee will operate with new clauses recognized for their merits.
• Martin McTague from the Federation of Small Businesses stated that the £25,600 minimum income threshold should be lower due to job pay in the care sector.
• Brian Bell of the MAC noted that immigration has been used as an excuse to avoid addressing social care issues.
• The NHS reported nearly 90,000 job vacancies between October and December 2019.
• The Royal College of Nursing reports that only about 27,000 nursing vacancies have been filled out of a publicised increase of 50,000 nurses.
• The Institute for Public Policy Research modelled the impact on EEA nationals in social care and found that 79% would be ineligible under proposed MAC thresholds.
• The new clause aims for an independent assessment of the Bill's impact.
• Support comes from third-sector organizations, trade unions, charities across UK.
• NHS reported over 120,000 unfilled posts by September 2019 with a 22% increase year-on-year.
• Skills for Care estimates that one-quarter of the workforce aged over 55 will retire within ten years creating another 320,000 vacancies.
• Only graduate-level jobs were eligible under Tier 2 immigration system.
• New skilled worker route will allow workers with school leaver qualifications to apply.
• General salary threshold set at £25,600 or job-specific rates.
• Current vacancies: 122,000 in England alone.
• Projected shortages over next 10 years: up to 320,000 due to retirements.
• New Clause 35 aims to exempt EEA and Swiss nationals from paying the immigration skills charge when working in the UK.
• The clause seeks to protect the rights of EU citizens working in various sectors, including healthcare.
• Nearly 10% of doctors, 8% of social care staff, and 6% of nurses working in the UK are from EEA countries.
• The immigration skills charge has taken nearly £13 million out of just 21% of NHS trusts in England since 2017.
• Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust paid £961,000 in charges over three financial years; Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust paid more than £972,000 in a single year.
• The immigration skills charge aims to incentivise UK-based employers to invest in training and upskilling.
• Income raised is allocated to address skills and training gaps in the resident workforce, including healthcare.
• The Migration Advisory Committee recommended extending the charge to cover EEA citizens under a post-Brexit work-permit scheme.