UK Immigration News

An investigation done by the BBC has found a growing number of women from overseas are travelling to Britain to give birth in British hospitals.

The practice is costing some trusts hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

Patients from outside the EU must normally prove they can pay for medical treatment but expectant mothers are treated as emergencies.

British hospital trusts must then claim the money back. But many never recover the cost of the treatment they have provided.

While few would dispute the fact that the UK is clearly a popular choice for inward migration, many may be surprised to discover the number of UK citizens that regularly embark on a new life abroad.

According to various sources, in the decade 1993-2002, the UK experienced higher levels of emigration than had been previously recorded. Outward migration over the period increased from 266,000 individuals in 1993 to 359,000 people by 2002.

The UK's new Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill that is being presented to the House of Lords, could see International students lose their right to appeal against decisions about their right to stay in the UK.

One in 10 workers in the UK was born abroad, according to research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

More than a third of working-age immigrants arrived in the UK during the past decade, according to its Immigrants in the British Labour Market report.

The research looked at data from 1979 to 2004 and analysed the type of work immigrants were doing and how easy it was for them to find employment. More than 40% of migrant workers were found to live in London.

An immigration policy that gives Scotland a competitive advantage in attracting immigrants is to be undermined by a similar scheme introduced across the UK.

A version of the Fresh Talent Initiative, which allows foreign graduates to live and work in Scotland for two years, will be launhced in England.

The UK is in danger of falling behind internationally because of a skills shortage, a government report has said.

An interim report by Lord Leitch said: "The scale of the challenge is daunting."

He said that delivering current plans would be difficult. But even if the "ambitious" targets for 2020 were met, they would not be enough to meet the demands of employers, workers and the nation as a whole.

Lord Leitch, chairman of the National Employment Panel, said: "Skills present a formidable challenge and a brilliant opportunity."