EU to open job doors to Indian immigrants: report

The European Union (EU) is to open job doors to Indian immigrants under a "secret" deal to be inked with New Delhi next year, a media report said.

The proposed agreement between the EU and New Delhi, being drawn up by Brussels, will allow an unlimited number of Indian immigrants and foreign specialists to work in European countries, including Britain, 'The Sun' reported.

In fact, under the deal, skilled Indian IT workers, engineers and managers can transfer to the UK and other EU nations. Western firms gain access to India in exchange, the report said.

Indian workers would be granted three-year visas to the UK, but not permanent citizenship, it said.

Think tank Migrationwatch UK has called on the British government to "come clean" on the deal which is to be signed next summer.

Migrationwatch chief Sir Andrew Green said: "There is no point in a limit on economic migration if specialists from India are excluded by a separate agreement."

However, the British government has insisted that the deal would be worth hundreds of millions of pounds in extra business to British firms.

"The EU India Free Trade Agreement will benefit businesses trading with India. We will ensure any commitments will be consistent with the government's commitment to reduce net migration," a spokesman was quoted as saying.

Prime Minister David Cameron, it may be recalled, had vowed to cut migration from more than 200,000 a year to "tens of thousands".