10 Reasons why Scotland Needs its own Immigration Visa

Scotland doesn’t control its own immigration. It has to live by the UK’s visa regulations which do not match the immigration/workforce needs of Scotland’s economy or its communities. Scotland’s inability to bring in workers with the skills the country needs is holding back the growth of our economy and adds to the problems facing the Highlands and Islands.

There were indications recently that the UK Government might be considering a separate Scottish visa but Home Secretary Yvette Cooper backtracked. Instead, she has suggested adding a Scottish member to the migration committee - but tinkering with the committee has been the UK’s main response to Scottish demands for a new approach for years without making any apparent difference. A private members bill to devolve migration to Holyrood is going through Westminster but is unlikely to succeed. 

Here are ten reasons why Scotland needs its own visas

1 There is no positive reason for the UK Home Office to control migration into Scotland

The UK Home Office sets rules that are tailored to the needs of the south of England. These don’t suit Scotland’s economy and there is no reason to take a one size fits all approach. It does not benefit Scotland. The only benefit is to the UK - because it sets itself targets for the number of people who come into the whole of the UK and it wants to control the numbers for Scotland. But it could simply modify its target to cover England and Wales. 

2 Scotland could manage its own rules - such as how migrant workers pay for and access the NHS 

The Scottish Government has been planning for a new visa for several years. Scotland already has its own tax code and a Scottish visa would give people accepting a job offer in Scotland the legal right to work and access health care and education here. 

A separate visa system would enable Scotland to set its own rate for access to healthcare. The Scottish government has already expressed concern over the UK surcharge of around £1,000 per person per year. Typically, it has to be paid for several years up front and that can be a real disincentive for the people Scottish businesses are trying to attract. 

3 A separate visa is working successfully in Quebec and elsewhere

There are two prominent examples of countries where significant immigration policy decision-making powers have been devolved: Canada and Australia. Unlike Scotland, Quebec controls its own visa rules. That is working successfully and enables Quebec to set criteria that suit its particular requirements. 

In both Canada and Australia, subnational governments nominate candidates for work visas using their own criteria to the central institution. If Scotland followed the same model, the Scottish government would simply present certain candidates to the UK Home Office for Scottish-only visas. There is a successful model that works - why can’t Scotland get that?. 

4 Scotland needs more workers to support its ageing population

Scotland has an older population - the average age is 42 with more than a fifth of Scotland’s population aged 65 and over, while 16 per cent are 15 or under. 

Last year, deaths in Scotland outnumbered births by 19,100, the largest difference on record, with the country’s population rising to its highest level because of overseas migration. But recent changes to migration rules are making it harder for Scotland to bring people in as migrants to, for example, help to care for old folk. 

This may lead to an economic crisis where there are not enough working-age people to pay the tax that covers the costs of caring for an ageing cohort. 

5 UK Visa salary levels don’t work for the Scottish economy

The UK government sets salary levels that are much too high for Scotland. Under the new rules, hospitality businesses using Skilled Worker visas to bring in overseas talent will need to pay those workers at least £38,700 – an increase of almost 50% over the previous salary threshold of £26,200. That is unaffordable for many Scottish businesses, 

It is not just hospitality - even the starting salary for a trainee solicitor in Scotland (£23,000-£26,000) falls far short of the Home Office requirement. The average salary in Scotland is about £30,000 a year - less than what the UK Home Office says even an under-26-year-old would need to get paid to get a skilled worker visa. These levels hamper businesses across Scotland. 

6 Lack of control means it is hard for Scotland to get the workers it needs

The main argument Unionist parties make is that Scotland should try to attract people from England. That usually means migrants, as England is also experiencing an increasing reliance on immigration to provide workers to support the economy.  

But asking Scottish businesses to attract people who have already got a visa because they were hired to fill a skill shortage in England is unfair. The way the Unionists phrase it is to say that the issue is that Scotland is just not attractive enough - but obviously it is really hard to get someone to leave the job they have just been hired into to come to a nearby country where salaries are lower. 

It also means Scotland isn’t allowed to set the criteria for the skills it needs - the occupations where there is a skills shortage is different for each country, but the list of shortage occupations is set by England for its needs. 

7 UK visa requirements now mean social care workers can’t bring their children

In the Highland and Islands in particular, one of the main problems communities face is an ageing community and plummeting school rolls. The struggle to get care workers for old people’s homes means that there are far fewer places than these areas need. Many homes have closed and the situation is causing a knock on problem with hospital capacity.

One of the attractions Highlands and Islands care facilities offer to their recruits is life in a beautiful, peaceful area to bring up a family. And a functioning school as the heartbeat of a rural area. So bringing in migrant workers with children of school age to staff care homes is a win-win.

But the UK Home Office has taken away this choice from Scotland’s rural communities - it has decreed that social care workers can no longer bring dependent children into the whole UK, including Scotland. 

8 Scottish farms can’t compete for UK seasonal agricultural visas against big English farms

The UK government is preoccupied with controlling immigration numbers. Even though agricultural workers come over for the season and do not stay permanently, their number is very restricted by the Home Office. 

The UK plans to give out 45,000 seasonal worker visas in 2025. That is fewer than half of the number of EU workers in UK agriculture pre-Brexit. There is competition for these workers - and big farms in the south of England to pay more. They can also afford to swallow the cost of administration fees and travel. It is increasingly hard for Scottish farmers to get their fair share of the UK’s seasonal agricultural visas - if they had their own system it would be much easier to make the supply fit the demand. 

9 Highland hospitality businesses need seasonal workers

Since Brexit, Scotland has lost out on seasonal workers - young people from all over Europe who enjoyed spending their summers in the beautiful Highlands and Islands and who staffed many hotels and restaurants for the season, living in temporary accommodation and then returning home in the winter. Since then, many visitors to the Highlands and Islands have found restaurants closed at lunchtime, cafes closed on Sundays and other seasonal businesses limiting their hours. 

If Scotland had its own immigration code it could allow hospitality businesses to apply for visas for summer workers. The Highlands and Islands have lost out disproportionately since Brexit. The area used to receive a high degree of EU funding, in part because the EU recognises ‘peripherality’ - the needs of areas that are situated a long way from markets. The UK government promised to replace that - but it has not come close to doing so. The economy is suffering - seasonal hospitality visas would give it a boost. 

10 Scottish Universities could offer a post-work study visa

Scottish Universities owe their global success in part to the ability to attract the brightest students from around the world. They are often keen to stay after graduation and can help to boost the Scottish economy through innovation, research and employment.

Scotland once had what was effectively its own visa system, a post-study work visa for international students. The Fresh Talent Initiative, agreed 20 years ago with Westminster, allowed foreign students who graduated from Scottish universities to secure a work visa. It ran from 2004 to 2008 and was eventually killed off by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition in Westminster.

Conclusion 

The typical answer that Unionist politicians give when asked about the need for a separate Scottish visa is to make out that Scotland is just not attractive to migrants. That is not true.

Scotland is fighting for talent with its hands tied behind its back. It is very difficult for Scottish businesses to recruit from abroad, using a set of criteria set for another country with different requirements and a different economy. It is equally hard for them to lure migrants who have been hired into English businesses to a country where salaries are lower.

If Scotland wants to grow its economy it needs to control the powers of migration and bring in workers and families with the appropriate skills.