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Two countries have already told the UK that it must relax immigration rules if it wants a free trade deal after Brexit.
Australia's high commissioner to the UK, Alexander Downer, has echoed India’s calls for Theresa May to relax rules on visa restrictions on its citizens if she wants to form a lasting trading partnership outside the EU.
Mr Downer told BBC Radio 4 that Canberra would seek "greater access" for Australian businesspeople before it agreed a deal with London. Informal ministerial talks between the two countries had already taken place to “explore the scope” of an agreement, he said.
Theresa May: UK left the EU to embrace the world “We would want to see greater access for Australian businesspeople working in the UK and that’s often been a part of free-trade negotiations – it hasn’t always been by the way, but it’s often been part of our free-trade negotiations," he added.
“For example, an Australian company that invests in the UK might want to bring some of its executives to the UK. That can be done now with what are called tier two visas, but maybe that could be made a little bit easier.”
The Government’s attempts to woo India also hit a snag earlier this week.
“Mobility issues are of importance to us; we cannot separate free movement of people from the free flow of goods, services and investments ”, a senior Indian official said.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson addresses the 2nd Raisina Dialogue event in New Delhi, India. He flew to the country to bring talks for a free trade deal
(EPA)
Ms May has made India - one of the fastest growing economies in the world - the centrepiece of her post-Brexit trade plans. It was the first country she visited after becoming Prime Minister.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also flew to Delhi last week. He met members of the government and business leaders in order to “turbocharge” the relationship between the two countries.
His visit came shortly after Ms May announced there will be a Hard Brexit – meaning an end to freedom of movement – as anxieties over high levels of immigration played a major role in the EU referendum.
But many communities and industries which rely on non-EU workers have indicated they feel betrayed following promises from the Leave side that there would be more room for their skilled workers once immigration from the EU was restricted.
Britain’s £4bn curry industry, which campaigned for the UK to leave the EU, has already said it felt “betrayed” by Ms May’s post-Brexit immigration crackdown .
Brexit ConcernsShow all 26 Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the “back of the queue” for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned – forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA – because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice.
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Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germany’s top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as “gateway to Europe” for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the Bundesbank—Germany’s central bank—told a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were “equivalent” between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still “miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market”, the BBC reports.
Jason Hawkes
The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union
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Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEO’s performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterling’s fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors.
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Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all".
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Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court
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Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit
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SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit
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Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais
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Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp
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The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today
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Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain
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Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry
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Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote
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The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging
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Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities
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A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses
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Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes
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A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU
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Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum
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Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU
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NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit
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The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future
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A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain
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The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions
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The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market
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It said they were already struggling to hire chefs, who usually come from Bangladesh, because they do not earn the £30,000 per year required for a visa.
A survey published at the end of last year found the number of licensed curry restaurants had declined by 13 per cent in 18 months .
The president of the Bangladesh Caterers Association – which urged its members to vote for Brexit in the hopes of better visa rules – recently said he was “very disappointed” the Government’s refusal to introduce a points-based immigration system.
Pasha Khandaker said: “My organisation supported Brexit for several reasons but the main reason was to bring people from abroad to help our industry to survive.”
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