New bill to allow the Government to end free movement for EU nationals
Image credit: UK GovernmentThe Queen has today officially opened Parliament and unveiled 27 new Government bills in the Queen's Speech.
BBC News notes that eight of the bills relate to Brexit and its implications for key industries.
A new immigration bill is amongst them, and its purpose is to allow the Government to end free movement for EU nationals and instead make them subject to relevant UK law.
The details given on the bill from the Government's background briefing are as follows:
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IMMIGRATION BILL
"This will be complemented by legislation to ensure that the United Kingdom makes a success of Brexit, establishing new national policies on immigration"
The purpose of the Bill is to:
• Allow the Government to end the EU's rules on free movement of EU nationals in the UK and make the migration of EU nationals and their family members subject to relevant UK law once the UK has left the EU, whilst still allowing the UK to attract the brightest and the best.
The main benefits of the Bill would be:
• To ensure we have the flexibility to create a fair and sustainable immigration system that gives us control over the numbers of people who come to the UK from the EU.
The main elements of the Bill are:
• To allow the Government to repeal EU law on immigration, primarily free movement, that will be saved and converted into UK law by the Repeal Bill.
• To allow the Government to make the migration of EU nationals and their family members subject to relevant UK law once the UK has left the EU.
Territorial extent and application
• The Bill would apply to the UK. Immigration is a reserved matter.
Key facts
• The Repeal Bill will save and convert EU law into UK law before we leave the EU. We are introducing an Immigration Bill that allows us to end free movement in the UK and bring EU nationals within the UK's immigration system.