Zoe O’Brien, Express
Post-Brexit plans to punish those intent on breaking the law will be revealed in the summer, according to reports.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has reportedly been asked by the Prime Minister to prepare a migration white paper for publication in the coming months.
The new framework will be draw up in Westminster, overseen by Ms Rudd and Damian Green, the work and pensions secretary, as well as David Davis, the Brexit Secretary.
Allowances will apparently be made for low skilled migrants such as seasonal agricultural work.
Options could include work permits and a five-year working visas.
Entitlement to benefits could also become much more strict.
But it is those such as landlords and employers who may well be forced to police the system.
A senior minister told the Times: “We will be making landlords and employers do a lot of the heavy lifting on the enforcement. That’s the direction of travel.”
The PM increased sanctions for knowingly employing or letting a home to illegal migrants in her role as Home Secretary.
New legislation puts the onus on landlords to check if those moving in have the right to work in the UK.
Those failing to do so could be jailed for five years.
The Immigration Act 2016 pushed up the maximum penalty for employers knowingly taking on illegal staff from two years in prison to five.
Reports different systems could be used in different areas were quashed by the Home Office.
In a statement, the Home Office said: “We said we would use the opportunity of leaving the European Union to take control of our immigration system and we will do exactly that.
“Our plans will be published in due course but this is just speculation.”
