Plans For Immigration Points System Unveiled
Immigrants who want to take on British citizenship will have to earn their passports as part of plans for a new points-based system.
Under the scheme migrants will be able to gain points towards their nationality application through their skills, jobs and qualifications, but bad behaviour will cost them points.
Until now, obtaining British nationality has been virtually automatic after five years working in the country, as long as applicants have paid taxes, learned to speak English and obeyed the law.
But the tough new rules will mean that, in future, it could be as long as 10 years before foreigners become eligible.
Speaking ahead of the launch of a consultation on the new citizenship proposals, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said they would "require people to earn points for, among other things, their skills, their job and their qualifications".
"Bad behaviour will be penalised, and only those with enough points will earn the right to a British passport," he said.
"No longer will there be an automatic link between temporary work and becoming a permanent UK citizen."
Would-be migrants from outside the EU are already subject to a points-based system, introduced last year, which permits access to the UK only if they have skills needed by the British economy.
A Home Office spokesman said: "The points-based system has already proved to be a powerful tool for controlling migration for the benefit of British people and the economy.
"We have already announced our intention to consult on applying these principles to the path to citizenship.
"New laws require migrants to earn citizenship by playing by the rules, speaking English and contributing to the community.
We intend to consult on how we can further strengthen these reforms and provide flexibility for the Government to respond to the changing economic needs of the country."
But Conservative immigration spokesman Damian Green said: "This is pure spin. There never has been an automatic right to British citizenship.
"It is simply that this Government that has let an unprecedented number of people obtain citizenship, issuing someone with a British passport every five minutes.
"This is an act of desperation by a Government that knows it has let immigration run out of control for more than a decade."
source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090803/...m-45dbed5.html
Originally Posted by pennybarry
im sorry another load of crap by this government they will change there mind next week another u turn 
they cant even get that organised at the moment .
the lot of them
, time the britsh gov stopped persecuting the brit who's married to someone outside of the union. 
to me the problem is not people outside Europe coming here, its europeans coming here, just like the vikings, raping and pillaging the uk 
