The Conservative UK government's white paper on its post-Brexit liberal visa and immigration strategy notwithstanding, all the four Punjabi Labour Party MPs -- Varinder Sharma, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Preet Gill, Seema Malhotra -- and 262 other Labour lawmakers have decided to oppose the move accusing the UK government of "misleading" and "misguiding" people on the sensitive issue.
The UK government's White Paper on its proposed post-Brexit visas and immigration strategy tabled in the House of Commons was being "widely hailed" as beneficial for Indian students and professionals for it has advocated removal of the existing annual cap of 20,700 skilled work visas issued to skilled workers.
The Theresa May government's announcement was being touted as the biggest visa system 'shake-up' in the past 40 years.
The proposed skilled immigration system will set highly-skilled migrants from anywhere in the world and it was being seen as a 'favourable' change for it will improve the post-study work environment for international students.
The new liberal visa and immigration system was expected to offer 'level playing field' for Indians and South Asian aspirants for it will put an end to existing free movement of people of 27 other members of the Economic Block in the UK. It will also mean that people from the existing EU countries and from rest of the world, including South Asia, will be professionally treated at par in the UK.
However, all the four Punjabi opposition Labour Party MPs have termed the proposed visa and immigration system of UK "nothing but a gimmick".
"Our party and all four of us are going to oppose it. Prime Minister Theresa May has tried to mislead people on this issue. On one hand, she has said on the floor of the House that the UK was going to strictly enforce a policy wherein not more than one lakh immigrants or skilled workers will be allowed to enter the country in a year and on the other, the government has tried to show that it is going to be very liberal on this front.
It is self-contradictory for lakhs of migrants who come to the UK every year under the existing system. If you think, the proposed system will benefit the Indian, Punjabi and South Asian migration aspirants or skilled workers in a big way, it will be nothing but a wrong perception," said Slough Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi while talking to The Tribune over the phone.
He said his party's all 266 lawmakers, including the Punjabi-origin MPs Caucus --- Varinder Sharma, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Preet Gill, Seema Malhotra --- are united over the issue and they will be exposing the Conservative government in the days to come on this issue. "The government's agenda is to decrease the flow of immigrants and skilled workers and not to increase it," alleged Dhesi.
The proposed changes in the White Paper were likely to attract more international students to the UK. It has proposed to offer six months' post study leave to all Bachelor and Master's degree holders after completion of their degrees with an objective to provide them with more time to find permanent skilled work and also to allow them to work during this period.
For Dhesi and other three Punjabi MPs, the proposed hike of minimium salary requirement of 30,000 pounds for skilled migrant workers seeking five-year visa was another 'grey area'. "It is quite a high amount and for the workers it will difficult to find prospective employers offering this much of salary in most of cases," added Dhesi and other MPs.