United Kingdom

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent, non-statutory, non-time limited, non-departmental public body that advises the UK government on migration issues. It is responsible for providing transparent, independent and evidence-based advice to the government on migration issues, including on the impacts of migration, the limits on immigration under the points based system, and skills shortages within occupations.

The UK has established a Migration Impacts Forum (MIF) to allow for a national debate and dialogue with key service providers on the wider impacts associated with migration experienced by local areas, and identify and share good practices in managing these impacts.

IndiaSkills is a joint venture between Manipal Education from India and City and Guilds from the UK to produce 500 centres and 1 million learners in 5 years with the aim of redefining the way education and training is delivered in India. It will enable students to obtain internationally-recognized skills-based qualifications in a wide range of industries, beginning with retail, hospitality, banking and English language training.

The Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) is a card scheme to prove the skills of plant operators. It helps to prove workers' operating skills and health and safety awareness and provides a single skills card for the plant sector of the construction industry.

The EU Immigration Portal serves as a first point of entry to reliable, practical and up-to-date information on immigration issues. It provides useful basic information written in user-friendly language and gives rapid and direct access to relevant external websites for further information. In concrete terms, the portal helps potential migrants to:

- Better understand the EU admission rules and procedures;

- Identify job and study opportunities;

- Find information on the rights of non-EU citizens who are in the EU;

AFFORD-UK is a non profit-making diaspora organization which supports diaspora-based business and job creation in countries of origin through various types of partnership. As one practical example of a partnership that delivers business services to microenterprises, AFFORD has recruited African professionals in the UK and sent them as diaspora volunteers to Sierra Leone.

The MTM Interactive Map on Migration (i-Map) is an online interactive platform in support of the Mediterranean Migration Dialogue.

The country profiles provide factual, non-analytical information and a series of graphs illustrating the main datasets relevant to Migration and Development in the country.

The profiles give access to a plethora of information sources through hyperlinks and they cover the following thematic areas:

The United Kingdom became a country of immigration after the Second World War, following large-scale immigration from its former colonies. Labour shortages generated by Britain’s relative postwar affluence were filled by colonial workers who took advantage of privileged immigration channels created by the country’s citizenship laws. Until the mid-1960s, migration was a market-driven phenomenon sanctioned by an imperial citizenship regime. Migration patterns were largely stable from the early 1970s until the 1990s, with migration disproportionately made up of family reunification.

The UK Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) was set up to protect workers from exploitation. The  licensing scheme regulates businesses who provide workers to the fresh produce supply chain and horticulture industry, to make sure they meet the employment standards required by law. Employment agencies, labour providers or gangmasters who provide workers to agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering and any associated processing and packaging sectors need a GLA license. 

The UK code promotes high standards of practice in the international recruitment and employment of healthcare professionals.