Study says thousands more Asians and Africans will move to UK

August 12 2009 by Rebekah Nahai

Population growth to drive UK immigration

A new report from think tank Migrationwatch says UK immigration from Asia and Africa is set to boom over the coming years.

The report says that the number of people who move to the UK from Eastern Europe will fall as the countries’ populations shrink.

But economic migration from developing nations in Asia and Africa will increase due to population growth.

The government plans to use the new points-based system to equip non-EU immigrants who move to the UK with skills that will benefit the country. The system is meant to ensure that economic migrants are skilled, educated, and do not plan to live off state benefits.

Population levels in North African countries are expected to increase by more than 100 million by 2050, increasing the number of people who seek to live and work in the UK to pursue better lives.

While some have requested a cap on non-EU immigration, the Home Office says that the points-based system is sufficient for controlling UK immigration populations.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We have been clear that we do not favour a cap on immigration because it is a crude measure which could harm the economy and not as effective as the robust and flexible points-based system we have introduced."

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