Will The Visa Quota Continue After Brexit

Certain countries such as India have quotas for its citizens who travel to the UK. With Britain leaving the European Union, the expectation was that the UK would change its quota system for Indian nationals. But it appears that British Prime Minister Theresa May has been resistant to an increase in the quota claiming that Britain was already lenient to Indian nationals stating "The figures show that we issue more work visas to India than I think US, Australia, and China put together. Nine out of 10 visa applications from India are already accepted. We have, I believe, a good system."

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made an early attempt to leverage the UK after Brexit by expressing his wish for a better deal for Indian nationals. But these were soon dashed. As a key trading partner of the UK, it is beneficial for the two countries to remain on good terms, but the British Conservative-led government is trying to reduce immigration and these changes would increase it.

The UK is in a tough spot, after the surprise referendum result in 2016 that saw Britain choose to end its more than 40-year membership of the European Union, the UK has been trying desperately to negotiate deals for a non-European future. So far, progress on these deals has been slow, to say the least, with no deals signed so far, though there has been interest from some countries.

It seems that Britain's toughest decisions are yet to come. A dwindling native birth rate and a stifled economy are not going to see much improvement when the country is no longer trading with its biggest supplier, the EU. In contrast, it seems the UK ought to have taken a more Germanic approach to its problems. Germany is Europe's powerhouse and if reports are correct, the place where most of the UK's financial firms are heading. Far from distancing itself from Europe, Germany has been a key and active player in the Union and has undoubtedly made the most of it.

Germany has also bucked the trend for the West's continued move towards the political right. Though German Chancellor Angela Merkel did lose some ground, it was nowhere near the wipeouts seen elsewhere. It seems that Germany is not ready for that sort of change and it has remained a success story due to its political liberalism, although the introduction of a large influx of Syrian migrants has caused controversy and given rise to a small uprising of ultra-nationalism.

The UK will need to reassess its position on these matters going forward to ensure that the economic powerhouse that it currently is remains so. The UK needs workers to maintain the economy, but the current Conservative trend towards immigration reduction will only damage the UK long-term and a change of heart is necessary, especially in the quota system.