29th September, 2009

Last month, the UK government unveiled new plans which will require prospective citizens to earn enough points to remain permanently in the UK.

Prospective new British Citizens will be awarded points for acquiring different attributes and skills above the already expected criteria. Proposals would see individuals rewarded for economic contribution, skills and enhanced language proficiency A key principal of the proposed reward system is to build up community cohesion, so those who undertake voluntary or civic work for local authorities will see a fast track to british citizenship as a potential reward. The government intends to verfiy this by working closely with local authorities to ensure ongoing monitoring of those undertaking such work. British citizenship will be removed for those breaking the law and acting anti-socially.

The new system will allow the government to have more control over the number of people gaining citizenship and enabling the bar to be lowered or raised depending on the UK’s economic needs.

Smooth Migration will keep you up-to-date on any further developments.