Loophole fear over migrants
FEARS were growing yesterday that the Government’s immigration cap will not prove tough enough.
Critics claimed that one in seven new arrivals will not be covered by the new rules.
The interim cap is aimed at limiting the number of non-EU workers allowed in the UK.
But a loophole means multinational firms – who last year sent 30,000 foreign workers to the UK – will be exempt.
The Home Office admitted the limit will not apply to the system – known as intra-company transfers – which lets firms bring in non-EU nationals already on their payroll.
Home Office figures reveal India’s Tata Consultancy Services sponsored 4,600 of its workers to come to Britain in 2008.
It also disclosed the names of 20,000 employers registered to bring in skilled workers, ranging from Chelsea Football Club to Thai takeaways.
Critics warned this could hit the Tory pledge to slash migration to just tens of thousands.
Sir Andrew Green, of pressure group MigrationWatch, said: “The ICT is being abused.”