The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended that in the future, caps to the Tier 2 visa scheme should be abolished.

The committee, which was established to assess the impact of the European Economic Area (EEA) on the UK’s labour market, said if free movement ends once the UK leaves the European Union, rules surrounding the migration of Skilled workers will likely have to cover both those from the EEA as well as outside of it, in which case the Tier 2 scheme should be adapted to make it easier for skilled talent to enter the UK.

The report said: “If the UK is in a position where it is deciding the main features of its immigration policy, our recommendation is that there should be a less restrictive regime for higher-skilled workers than for lower-skilled workers in a system where there is no preference for EEA over non-EEA workers.”

Though the MAC report stated the current Tier 2 General scheme is a “useful template” for future policies on migration, changes should be made such as lifting the cap on the number of skilled workers who can enter the UK.

This extends the scheme to cover medium-skilled jobs as well as highly skilled workers, and abolishing the Resident Labour Market Test which requires employers to advertise roles in the UK for 28 days before they can expand their search for talent outside of the region.

The hope is that by applying these changes and making the process of applying for a visa easier and less expensive, fewer people will be put off of applying to work in the UK because of complicated processes.

As well as making it easier for skilled workers to enter the UK, the MAC also suggested limiting access to those in lower skilled roles.

Kerry Garcia, partner and immigration specialist at law firm Stevens & Bolton, said though skilled workers and firms who need them will benefit from these changes, businesses in sectors such as retail and hospitality will suffer as they rely highly on lower-skilled workers from outside of the UK.

“The MAC concluded that there are no compelling reasons to offer a different set of immigration rules for EEA and non-EEA nationals,” she said.

“This is a surprising conclusion and one which will be disappointing to many employers in the UK who rely heavily on EEA nationals to fill roles. It’s also surprising given that the MAC found little (if any) evidence that EEA migrants have had a negative impact on the UK’s society or economy.”

Between December 2017 and March 2018, thousands of people who were eligible for Tier 2 visas were refused because of current government caps, with around 3,500 of those refusals being for people skilled in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) and medicine, among other skills the UK is in need of, such as Stem teaching.

Previous research has also found 7% of jobs in the UK’s digital tech sector were filled by non-EEA (European Economic Area) nationals and 45% of net employment growth in the UK’s tech sector comes from overseas.

Though initiatives such as the exemption of NHS doctors and nurses from the Tier 2 visa cap have helped make room for more tech workers, the UK could suffer from an immediate skills crisis if immigration rules remain the same after Brexit.

The MAC cited research from job site Indeed which found job adverts which were most viewed internationally were for highly skilled science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) roles, and that software technology roles make up 11.6% of advert clicks from IP addresses outside of the UK.