Britain is to be actively promoted by the Government as a destination for migrants who will fill skills shortages in the economy, the Home Office said yesterday.

Entrepreneurs and trade-related businesses are to be encouraged to head for Britain, while the existing Indian and Chinese communities are to be helped to access financial services to expand trade with India and China.

The move to market Britain as a “migration destination” comes despite the Immigration Minister admitting that the scale of recent migration had unsettled the country.

But yesterday’s Home Office paper on managing global migration said that promoting Britain would be necessary in a world in which there would be increasing competition for migrants and tourists. “We need to act internationally so that the UK remains attractive to those who can contribute to our economy,” the paper said.

The Government is to introduce a points system for people wishing to work and study, which the paper said would be promoted worldwide.

The decision to present Britain as a country actively seeking the brightest and the best comes three days before the first meeting of the new Migration Impact Forum, which is to look at the social as well as economic effects of immigration.

Liam Byrne, the Immigration Minister, told The Times: “This is not a dogmatic document. The message is not that we are slamming shut the door.”

Mr Byrne said that Britain’s Indian and Chinese communities could be important to help to expand Britain’s investments in the two countries. They could help to expand trade in financial, legal and business services. “The Indian and Chinese diaspora in the UK will be an important bridgehead into those two great growth markets of the future. Migrants’ knowledge of their home countries’ markets is as important as personal or business contacts.”

Ministers also plan to share more information about immigrants with overseas police and security agencies to prevent foreign criminals and immigration offenders from entering the country.

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