End 'preferential' access to UK for EU workers post-Brexit: Report

All migration to the UK should be managed uniformly with no preferential access to European Union (EU) workers after Brexit, a new UK government commissioned report said on Tuesday.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report comes a day after British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated the UK was keen to move away from a dual immigration system post-Brexit that discriminates between workers from the EU and those from countries like India.

The MAC had been charged with collating recommendations for a new immigration policy for once Britain has left the 28-member economic bloc next year.

"If and this is not a MAC recommendation immigration is not to be part of the negotiations with the EU and the UK is deciding its future migration system in isolation, we recommend moving to a system in which all migration is managed with no preferential access to EU citizens, concludes its report titled 'EEA (European Economic Area) Migration in the UK'.

Acknowledging the political constraints of migration as one of the factors that could sway ongoing Brexit negotiations, the report adds: "If the UK decides on its new immigration system in isolation from the negotiations about the future relationship with the EU, we do not see compelling reasons to offer a different set of rules to EEA and non-EEA citizens."
"A migrant's impact depends on factors such as their skills, employment, age and use of public services, and not fundamentally on their nationality."