Foreign investors hoping to be allowed into Britain will have to show they have at least £1m (€1.4m, $2m) to spend in the country under a new points-based immigration system announced yesterday.
The Australian-style system, to be introduced next year, is designed to stem the flow of low-skilled migrant workers coming from non-European Union countries.
Instead, it will give preference to entrepreneurs, financial high-flyers and skilled foreign professionals such as scientists and top engineers.
The emphasis will be on youth, wealth and professional qualifications. All migrant workers will be issued with “biometric visas” to check their identity and even high-flyers will be required to pass a test to prove they have a good standard of English.
Jacqui Smith, the UK home secretary, said: “The new system will be simpler and more transparent, ensuring that only those migrants Britain needs can come to work or study in the UK.”
Tougher rules for foreigners wanting to live in the UK after marrying a British citizen were also announced.
The government came under fire this autumn after Peter Hain, work and pensions secretary, admitted it had under-estimated the number of foreign workers in Britain, which has risen 1.1m in the past decade.
Low-skilled jobs under the new system will be expected to be filled by British or other EU citizens such as Poles and Lithuanians, who were given free access to the UK labour market when their countries joined the EU to 2004.
Employers will be allowed to bring in low-skilled workers from non-EU countries temporarily, but only for fixed periods. But they will have to show that the job could not be filled by a British or qualifying EU citizen, which could be difficult.
The highest category of skilled professionals and wealthy investors will be able to come to Britain without the offer of a job.
But other qualifying workers, such as nurses and technicians, will have to apply for a work permit before leaving their country and will need to have found a qualifying British employer to provide them with a job.
英国日前公布了以分值为基础的新移民体制。根据这一体制，希望获准进入英国的外国投资者将必须证明，他们至少拥有100万英镑（合200万美元）资金可在英国消费。
这个澳大利亚风格的新移民体制将于明年实施，目的是遏制非欧盟(EU)国家低技能员工的流入。
相反，新体制将优先选择企业家、金融界优秀人才和高技能的外国专业人士，例如科学家和优秀工程师。
新体制将强调年轻、财富和专业资质。英国将向所有移民员工发放“生物识别签证”(biometric visa)，以核对他们的身份，甚至连优秀人才也必须通过测试，证明他们有良好的英语水平。
英国内政大臣雅基•史密斯(Jacqui Smith)表示：“新体制将更为简单和透明，确保只有英国需要的移民才能来到英国工作或学习。”
对那些与英国公民结婚后希望住在英国的外国人，英国也宣布了更严格的规定。
今年秋季，英国政府遭到了批评。此前，英国就业与养老金大臣韩培德(Peter Hain)承认，政府低估了在英国工作的外国人的数量。过去10年，英国的外籍员工数量增加了110万。
根据新的移民体制，低技能职位预计将由英国或波兰和立陶宛等其他欧盟欧盟国家的公民来填补。自2004年加入欧盟以后，波兰和立陶宛的公民便可以自由进入英国劳动力市场。
雇主可以临时从非欧盟国家聘用低技能员工，但只能聘用固定的期限，而且他们必须证明，英国或符合资格的欧盟国家公民不能胜任这份工作，这可能难度很大。
最高类别的高技能专业人士和富有的投资者，将可以在没有工作合同的情况下进入英国。
但其他符合资格的员工，例如护士和技术员，在离开自己的国家之前，必须申请工作许可，同时还必须合格的英国雇主提供给他们工作。