Just in the Nick of Time: A Closer Look at the Immigration Bill 

Credit: The Independent (AFP)

So here we find ourselves again amongst the chaos, with even more lunacy and ill thought out policy being brought into the stream of public consciousness by this hap-hazard government. I’ve tried to hold back my extremity of language on the reservation that I don’t want to come across as undermining. I believe in times of deep public crisis, the best approach is to helpfully point out errors or areas for improvement without being the brandishing hand that slaps those in control with such brazen ideological firmness. However, the sheer half-baked perception of public opinion via the pushing through of the dreaded Immigration Bill has got me thinking if Boris and the gang have really thought about if they want to keep any sort of majority in four years’ time.

Priti Patel sure is tough isn’t she? Or at least she’d have us believe that her toughness will extend to the tightening up of border controls on either side of The Channel to avoid migrants entering the UK illegally during the period of lockdown. Whatever your views may be on illegal immigration (which I’m sure will vary among my extremely limited readership), I can assure you that 550 migrants turning up on a dinghy at the White Cliffs of Dover is most certainly not the primary focus of this Immigration Bill despite a certain division of the public wanting it to be (I assure you I only link The Sun to demonstrate who will connect this bill to asylum law as the most central issue). Whilst this type of illegal immigration is an issue that warrants attention in its own right, I will not be dealing with it in relation to the Immigration Bill as legislation on how the asylum process will be reformed is extremely far down the pipeline (on Patel’s own admission) and is not at all pressing in comparison to the central implications of the bill at this precise moment.

Priti Patel could have been pressured
just that bit more by Nick Ferrari on LBC (video still)

Whilst there is not presently much information on bill specifics, what we do know is that we’ll be embracing the oxymoron that by closing up the free movement of EEA citizens, we will be opening up our borders to the world. This means the current EEA regulations dictating free movement of migrants around the EEA area will end and all those who now wish to enter the UK will have to do it either on the Points-based system or on a settlement route. Of course, if you are unable to find a British spouse to get your feet on English soil then it’ll have to be the PBS-system which is the prime reason for confusion and uproar in light of the new bill.

Let’s be clear, the PBS system is nothing new as many gun toting Australiaphiles have harped on about during the Brexit referendum. Being in force for non-EEA migrants since 2010, the system has several routes, sectioned into Tiers. Now most people won’t be coming in as minted investors or exceptional talents under Tier 1, and Tier 3 has been suspended since its implementation due to the fact it was drafted to account for mass low-skilled labour shortages if an abundance of workers were ever required (funny that). So, that leaves us with the most frequently used visa tiers: Tier 2 for overseas migrant workers, Tier 4 for students and Tier 5 for anyone else (Tier 5 is a reasonably niche category and will be mentioned in more detail at the foot of this article with regards to touring musicians). 

The so far silently operating Tier 2 (General) route has now finally taken centre stage and has revealed itself in all of its civil service jargon that has not only shown how the government determines who is able to come and work in the UK from overseas but perhaps how the everyday jobs we carry out are perceived by the powers that be. To be as brief as possible without getting lumped down in technicalities of the Immigration Rules, to be hired under the Tier 2 (General) category is no easy feat. One must have the relevant skills required for the high-skilled role as set out in the list of jobs eligible for this route and meet the specified salary shown on the same list as well as lots of other bureaucratic processes, fees and documents. In accordance with the policy statement, the bill will likely relax this “high-skilled” list to include a whole load more roles that currently do not quality under the Tier 2 route, resulting in perhaps more non-EEA immigration. However, the government have been a clear as day on their approach to low-skilled workers where there will be no exceptions. Click here and select the “Table 5” drop-down option for the list of all roles deemed as low-skilled to see for yourself how these terms are defined and exampled in the Immigration Rules (I would strongly encourage you to view this section of the Immigration Rules and spend some time trawling though just how many jobs are understood as low-skilled).

Matt Vickers in the Commons giving
a no nonsense speech on ending free-movement

So far, so good? The borders are being loosened as oppose to restricted and the government is still able to follow through with getting Brexit done on perhaps the single most crucial motivator in the Leave camp, immigration. A “firmer, fairer and simpler system.” However, In the words of Nick Ferrari, the world has changed (see the previously linked YouTube video). Migration from EEA countries has steadily increased since 2004 with over a million EEA migrants (Table 3, ‘Largest Occupations by Skill Group and Place of Birth’) taking up “low-skilled” roles currently. Since the impact of Covid-19, the British public have endured a reassessment of values of which skills have been the most dependable in keeping our lives moving day in day out. Unlike the pre-corona consensus, the corona enduring world has seen before their very eyes which sectors have been neglected (most notably care workers, who you will find on the low-skilled list) and the risks people are willing to put themselves through when carrying out their employment duties. In other words, by the choice of the British people, we have recognised the low-skilled as being essentially vital to our economy in current circumstances. Conservative MP for Stockton South, Matt Vickers asserted in the Commons that this new system will allow us to effectively select who is most useful to our economy by ending free movement but the situation indicates that a great deal of the most useful have been entering on none other than free movement regulations.

The silver bullet in the pushing forth of the Immigration Bill is not what it contains but is found purely its timing at a more delicate time than ever. A debate about British workers filling low-skilled roles through a phasing in scheme to adequately make up the EEA deficit can and should be had but not right now. It would seem Priti Patel is still on a full throttle beaming of Brexit floodlights which has only exposed her detachment from contemporary public opinion by still believing the public is driven by a “tightening up” of infinite inbound European migration. I can imagine her logic goes something like this: “If I push this through now, I will show the public how tough I am on the issue; how committed the Conservative party are to their election promises and will appeal to the “get-on-with-it” attitude harboured by much of the Conservative electorate with regards to the Coronavirus.” What bringing this bill to the forefront of debate has in fact done is open many people’s eyes to the how a PBS immigration system really functions. Low-skilled in terms of the Immigration Rules does not only include a lot of jobs but now British citizens themselves will think twice about how their government views British jobs resulting in a redefining of the terms “high-skilled” and “low-skilled” and how they now apply to a society under siege of infection.

Fruit pickers in Hereford
Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

The government have been relaxed in allowing EEA migrants to fill the low-skilled labour market for years, just look at the fruit picking story to see the EU migrant support network that we often fall back onto in clinch moments. Even the Tier 3 visa category was suspended upon implementation on the basis that mainly freely moving EEA migrants will always be able to cover a deficit of low-skilled workers. It would seem the low-skilled are now those who are most valuable in our predicament with the Immigration Bill only making us aware of the spite directed at this labour group by our government. Coronavirus has indeed become the elixir enabling us to view our comrades in a different light on all sorts of issues. That light has now been steered toward fellow European citizens and the contributions they have made since their arrival in our land. What the Conservative party don’t realise, is that by firing on all pistons to keep a promise to the public, they are preaching to the converted, except this mob of converts are those of a new faith entirely.

On a slightly related note

There has been some talk in the DIY music community about changes to concert performances and tours in that of non-UK artists touring or performing in the UK. In an NME article it was suggested that the policy will require Tier 5 performance visas to be made to play in the UK. The implications to our community are not too drastic in scenario where a band comes into the UK on a visit visa and plays maybe one or two shows with borrowed equipment. Even larger US bands who may be on booking agencies are still required to apply for similar visa types when undergoing a more high budget tour but this is usually sorted out by the booking agent and won’t be too different to how things currently stand for groups being big enough to have to make these types of applications.

My main concerns are twofold:

• EU bands will now be faced with the Tier 5 route which will provide solid barriers to a fluidity of movement enjoyed by a whole European hardcore scene (including the UK) for many years. It is pretty common practice these days for European bands to drive freely around their continent annually/biannually with no limits on logistical arrangements. In short, you can mostly definitely expect European bands to be touring with UK bands less and hitting the UK as a location on their route even less often.

• There still isn’t at all much clarity on how the EU will take to UK bands touring the mainland. If they choose to implement a similar system to what we are imposing on them then every single logistical nightmare of booking a tour will become ten times worse. Bands will scrabble around to gather funds for visa fees, documentary evidence and whatever else comes with the tediousness of visa applications. Those who wish to take the change can still always fly into Europe with NOTHING and borrow all their stuff as many have done so when touring the US but believe me, this requires an infinitely more careful touring plan on where merch is printed and where vans/gear is collected from etc. This creates a direct dependence for UK bands to tour alongside a European act as British bands will require the unlucky European sods who opt to tour with them as those responsible for arranging all the aforementioned logistics when meeting the British band at the airport. This directly contravenes the current trend which is for two UK bands to team up in a van and hit the EU coast line with a shared boot of equipment.

Ultimately, none of this will stop people from either following the rules or finding ways around them but you can bet your bottom dollar that frequency will decline and less international acts will head to British shores. A good time to become nationalistic champions of our own acts for sure but I really do accept this begrudgingly as at the end of the day, hardcore and punk are international phenomena that prosper most when exposed to audiences across borders. 

Two bands in one photo (Blind Authority and Frame of Mind).
As just mentioned, doing a two timing tour with a UK sibling
band will be a trend that is less frequent due to the bill's implications