The Migration Advisory Committee

This section describes the work of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).

The information in this section is produced by the MAC's Secretariat. The Secretariat is independent of the UK Border Agency..

Parts of this section were archived following the formation of the current UK government in May 2010. To view the section as it appeared prior to May 2010, visit the UK government web archive.

MAC publishes report on the Analysis of the Impacts of Migration (10 January 2012)

In May 2011 the Government asked the MAC to 'research the labour market, social and public service impacts of non-EEA migration; and to advise on the use of such evidence in cost-benefit analysis of migration policy decisions.'

The MAC has today published a report that addresses this question.

The MAC is also publishing 6 external research reports that it commissioned to inform the above work which can be accessed under the heading 'Research projects published in 2012'. Views expressed in these reports reflect those of the contractors and not necessarily those of the MAC.

MAC publishes report on the family migration route (16 November 2011)

The MAC has today published a report on the minimum income requirement for sponsorship under the family migration route.

In July 2011 the government asked the MAC to consider the following question: 'What should the minimum income threshold be for sponsoring spouses/partners and dependants in order to ensure that the sponsor can support his/her spouse or civil or other partner and any dependants independently without them becoming a burden on the State.' The MAC report addresses this question.

MAC publishes reports on settlement and restrictions on workers from Bulgaria and Romania (4 November 2011)

The MAC has today published a report to the government on how to determine which skilled migrant workers can settle in the UK. The MAC was commissioned by the government in June 2011 to identify the most suitable economic criteria for determining which Tier 2 migrant workers could settle permanently in the UK and what the economic effects of restricting or removing Tier 1 or Tier 2 settlement rights would be.

The MAC has also today published a report to the government on the current employment restrictions on workers from Bulgaria and Romania. The MAC was asked in May 2011 to consider whether the UK labour market is currently experiencing, or threatened by a serious disturbance, and to look at the consequences of maintaining or lifting the current employment restrictions on workers from these countries.

Call for evidence on the level of the annual limit on Tier 2 and associated policies (26 October 2011)

The MAC has launched a call for evidence to run for eight weeks on the level of the limit on Tier 2 of the points-based ystem in 2012/13 and associated policies, including the intra-company transfer route, the resident labour market test and the minimum skill level for Tier 2. This follows a commission from the Minister for Immigration on behalf of the Government.The MAC invites evidence in response to this commission, and a call for an evidence document has been produced setting out details of the commission and how to respond. The deadline for evidence to be sent to the MAC is 21 December 2011.

MAC publishes new recommended shortage occupation list (12 September 2011)

The MAC has today published a report to the government recommending changes to the government's shortage occupation list under Tier 2 of the points-based system. The government asked the MAC in March 2011 to consider the following question:

'In which occupation(s) or job title(s) skilled to National Qualifications Framework level 4 or above is there a shortage of labour that it would be sensible to fill using labour from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).'

Family migration (13 July 2011)

The government has issued a consultation on the family migration route. At the same time the MAC has been asked to address the following question:

'What should the minimum income threshold be for sponsoring spouses/partners and dependants in order to ensure that the sponsor can support his/her spouse or civil or other partner and any dependants independently without them becoming a burden on the State.'

The MAC have been asked to report by October 2011. The MAC will not issue a formal call for evidence on this question, but will undertake some targeted corporate partner engagement. If partners wish to submit relevant written views, the MAC will be happy to receive them.

Call for evidence on settlement (21 June 2011)

On 9 June, the government announced its settlement consultation on work routes leading to settlement (and other issues) and said that it would commission the MAC to consider the economic impact of restricting or removing settlement rights under Tiers 1 and 2 of the points-based system.

The question that the government has asked the MAC to consider is as follows:

What would be the economic effects of restricting or removing settlement rights in Tiers 1 and 2 and/or restricting leave to a maximum of 5 years?

If settlement were to be restricted:

• which economic criteria could be used to identify the most economically important Tier 2 migrants for settlement?
• would there be merit in making allowance for specific skills or occupations as part of the assessment criteria, based on factors including strategic economic importance, provision of key public services, and ensuring that the UK attracts the top global talent?

The MAC has been asked to report to the Government by September 2011.

The MAC invites evidence from all partners to inform its consideration of this question. Further details about this work and how to submit evidence can be found in the call for evidence document (PDF 151KB, opens in a new window). Please note that the deadline for submitting evidence to the MAC is 31 August 2011.

Government consultation on employment-related settlement (9 June 2011)

The government has launched a consultation on reforms to the work routes leading to settlement. As part of this work the Government has asked the MAC to advise on the economic effects of restricting or removing settlement rights under Tiers 1 and 2 and the criteria that could be used to identify the most economically important Tier 2 migrants. We will launch a call for evidence on these issues shortly.

Transitional restrictions on workers from Bulgaria and Romania (3 June 2011)

Current immigration restrictions on nationals of Bulgaria and Romania are due to be reviewed by the government. Under the provisions of the Treaty on Accession, those restrictions may be continued until the end of 2013 in the event of serious labour market disturbance.

To feed into the government's review, the MAC has been asked the following question:

'Is there a serious disturbance, or threat of such a disturbance, to the UK labour market and would maintaining the existing restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian nationals' access to the labour market assist in addressing any such disturbance or threat?'

The MAC has been asked to report to the government by October 2011. The MAC will not issue a formal call for evidence on this question, but will seek input from certain individuals and bodies with an interest. In addition, the MAC will be happy to receive, and will consider, written views on this matter.

Labour market impacts of migration (16 May 2011)

The government has asked the MAC to address the following question:

'To research the labour market, social and public service impacts of non-EEA migration; and to advise on the use of such evidence in cost-benefit analyses of migration policy decisions.'

This work will feed in to the development of future assessments of the impacts of changes to immigration policy. The government has asked the MAC to report by November 2011. The MAC will not issue a formal call for evidence on this question, but will undertake some targeted corporate partner and academic engagement. However, if partners wish to submit relevant written views, the MAC will be happy to receive them.

New UK Commission for Employment and Skills representative on the MAC (12 May 2011)

Mark Spilsbury is the new representative of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) on the MAC, replacing Mike Campbell OBE.

Mark is the Chief Economist at the UKCES. You can read more about him on the Committee members' biographies page.

Full review of the UK labour market to inform the Tier 2 shortage occupation list (18 March 2011)

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has begun a review of the UK labour market following a commission from the government, in order to recommend occupations and job titles to be added to and removed from the Tier 2 UK and Scotland shortage occupation lists.

The MAC is considering the following question:

'In which occupation(s) or job title(s) skilled to National Qualifications Framework level 4 or above is there a shortage of labour that it would be sensible to fill using labour from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).'

The MAC invites evidence to support its consideration of this question. Further details of how the MAC will approach this work and on how to submit relevant evidence is set out in this document. Evidence needs to be provided by 10 June 2011.