07 September, 2017
Instead of refusing to comment on the leak, he tacitly endorsed the approach saying people voted for control of migration, and that ministers would need to strike a balance.
They would only be allowed to work in Britain for a maximum of two years, according to the Home Office proposals.
Labour MP Alison McGovern, a leading supporter of the pro-Remain group Open Britain, said: "This leaked document is part and parcel of a mean and cynical approach which is already deterring people from coming here".
A new visa system covering European Union nationals would then be introduced at the end of a transition period lasting at least two years. They would also face tough restrictions on bringing family members.
The 82-page Home Office document, marked "official sensitive", includes ideas such as forcing businesses to try to recruit in Britain before they are allowed to hire workers from overseas.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn shied away from raising the issue at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, perhaps wary of fuelling divisions within his own party on immigration.
"We have a huge teacher recruitment and retention crisis in this country".
Among proposals floated to cut numbers of lower-skilled migrants are a restriction to two years' residency, compared with work permits for a longer period of three to five years for those in high-skilled occupations.
"The UK needs an immigration system which provides control while also enabling employers to access the foreign workers they need at all levels - whether it be short term seasonal workers, intra company transfers or permanent positions".
The digital "status checker" service will be supported by "improved data sharing capabilities between government departments, notably between the Home Office, HM Revenue and Customs [HMRC], and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), to link together tax, benefit and immigration records in a fully automated and digital way", the document said.
"These policies as proposed by the Home Office will effectively break up family units", he said.
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said the measures were "a big step in the right direction", tweeting: "Let's hope this government have the guts to carry it through".
Speaking at the first prime minister's questions since the summer recess, May did not refer directly to the Home Office document leaked to the Guardian, but gave a general defence of greatly reducing the numbers of European Union arrivals after Brexit.
"We will continue to encourage employers to invest in training and fill skills gaps within the resident United Kingdom workforce and take a longer-term view of this investment, ensuring that we continue to have a competitive edge in the globalized world", the draft document reads. "If it becomes so, we will judge it against the criteria we have laid out".
Bosses may also be forced to recruit British workers first.
"These proposals rightly focus on confining continued access to the very high skilled, and by doing so could well reduce net migration from Europe by 100,000 a year".
Food and Drink Federation (FDF) director general Ian Wright told FoodManufacture.co.uk: "Food and drink manufacturing, Britain's largest manufacturing sector, will be alarmed by the proposals contained in the document published by The Guardian". Overwhelmingly it has been the case that overseas workers have been complementary rather than competitive to British workers.
