Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on labour shortages.

Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. This has not changed. However, a responsible government must plan for every eventuality, including a no deal scenario.

As laid out in the policy paper ‘Immigration from 31 October 2019, if there is no deal’ published on the 28 January 2019, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal there will be a transition period, once free movement has ended and before the UK’s new skills-based immigration system begins on 1 January 2021.

Arrangements for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens arriving after free movement ends, coming to visit, work or study, for the duration of less than three months, will not look any different.

To stay longer than three months during the transition period, newly arrived EU citizens will need to apply for European Temporary Leave to Remain, which lasts for a further 36 months. Those who want to stay in the UK beyond the granted 36 months will need to apply and qualify under the new skills-based immigration system, which will start to come into effect, deal or no deal, from 2021.

The future system will focus on skills and not nationality, welcoming talented and hardworking individuals who will support the UK’s dynamic economy, en-abling business and employers to continue to compete on the world stage.