UK PM says EU, non-EU nationals to face similar post-Brexit immigration rules... Indians to benefit

London: British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday gave the first major indication that immigration rules for non-EU citizens such as Indians are set to be closely aligned with those for European Union nationals once Britain has left the economic bloc by next year.

The UK is at present bound by the EU's freedom of movement rules, which offers nationals from the 27 EU member-countries an automatic right to work and settle in Britain.

On the other hand, non-EU countries like India are subject to a strict visa regime and quotas under specific categories. In an interview with the BBC, the prime minister said that the vote in favour of Brexit in the June 2016 referendum was a vote to end this dual system of migration.

"The message from the British people was very simple. It was they didn't want a situation where they could see people coming from the European Union having those automatic rights in terms of coming here to the United Kingdom, and a set of rules for people outside the European Union," May said in response to a question about the UK's post-Brexit immigration plans.

"What we will be doing is putting forward a set of rules for people from the European Union and people from outside the European Union," she said.

The government is set to publish its detailed immigration proposals in the coming months, which is widely expected to be a general toughening of stance on controlling the numbers that come into the country in line with the Conservative party's target to reduce migration.

May has so far refused to rule out any post-Brexit preferential treatment for EU migrants, one of the issues which has deeply divided MPs and ministers within her own party. However, the idea that EU and non-EU migrants would get a level playing field in terms of immigration was the central plank on which many of the leading Brexiteers campaigned for a vote in favour of leaving the economic bloc.

"The pressures being put on our services by immigration from the EU has meant that tough limits have been put in place on immigration from outside the EU. This means that our relatives struggle to get visas to come to the UK for family celebrations, restaurants cannot employ skilled chefs from abroad, our temples cannot bring in priests, and we cannot bring people in for business, cultural or sporting events as well as the thousands of talented professionals like doctors, teachers and engineers," said Gujarati-origin Priti Patel, former UK Cabinet minister and a prominent pro-Brexit campaigner.

"Once we take back control of our borders and 'Vote Leave', we can have an immigration system that is fair to all and allows us to bring in the brightest and the best from across the world," she said.