Boris says Oz ‘points system’ coming here.

Funny, then, EllanVannin that we have Australian nurses working here in the UK.

I wonder why?

The cost of living in Australia is higher too, now.

Salaried general practitioners (GPs) earn £56,525 to £85,298 depending on the length of service and experience.
Is that not a decent wage?

For those who think we DO need immigration, can I ask at what point it stops? How high does the population have to get before enough is enough? Yes we have always been a nation of immigrants but not on this scale - so many in a short space of time.

Callistemon, there may well be Australian nurses working in London where there's a marked difference in pay than here in the NW. There shouldn't be as they all do the same job.

If we didn't have immigrant staff here there'd be nobody working in the hospitals etc. They're very caring people who also work in nursing/residential homes too. When my D did agency work for BUPA years ago there were Philipino's on contract/work visa's who were patient people who enjoyed the work but the pay was rubbish which is why they didn't renew their contracts. These were trained staff !

I read in the paper the other day that an elderly ex-pat was threatened with deportation because she was a burden on Australia's health system. The old lady since died because of the threat hanging over her . The 93 year old had lived in Perth for 11 years.

This isn't the first time that elderly British have been threatened.

What use is the points system in these circumstances ?

Having a points system would not stop qualified and skilled staff coming to UK. It would stop those who have no skills who would take the unskilled jobs, for lower wages, than the local population. Any employer will always look to keep their outgoings, including wages, as low as possible and unskilled labour from abroad merely facilitates that.

I would also like to know what he plans to do about all those immigrants entering our country illegally on boats. We never get to hear how many , if any, get sent back home. Javid claimed he would put a stop to it but still they come.

Callistemon It's quite possible that Australian nurses are working here because they want to see other parts of the world. Does anyone remember seeing the VW Campervans lined up along the Aldwych? All those Aussies and Kiwis wanting to see the old country.

Since 2016, overall long-term immigration to the UK for work has continued to decrease and looking at all available data sources.

Office of National Statistics.

Yes Jennifer, how right you are, send them home.

Wadesnan - all non-EU workers have to have permits to enter the UK. The issue of unskilled/low skilled workers applies only to EU migrants and this will change when we leave.

It's quite possible that Australian nurses are working here because they want to see other parts of the world. Does anyone remember seeing the VW Campervans lined up along the Aldwych? All those Aussies and Kiwis wanting to see the old country.
Some of them may even want to marry British people!! Or perhaps met them when they came over to work here.

I remember when we had an influx of Australian dentists many years ago.

Parts of London were like 'little Australia' when I was younger.

There are about 55,000 Australians resident in London. Some of the ones I know who came here have no links to this country - but they have gone home again.

EllanVannin, the case you refer to was a lady who had applied for a parent visa onshore, ie in Australia. If you are over 65 you can do this, pass a medical and then you are put on a bridging visa until your parent visa is processed and granted. (There is no points test for a parent visa, there are other criteria. The points test is for skilled visas). Parent visa processing can take several years and before the visa is granted you need to pass another medical. Unfortunately the lady in question failed the medical and her visa was refused. This was the reason she was threatened with deportation. She has since passed away, yes, but she was unaware of the threat to deport her as her family had not told her.