Thousands of skilled immigrants face deportation after the Government unlawfully and unfairly changed the rules allowing them into the country, a parliamentary committee says.

It criticises the Home Office for applying new rules retrospectively against thousands of the “bright and the best” encouraged to come to Britain to boost the economy.

The Lords and Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights urges Liam Byrne, the Immigration Minister, to change the rules to ensure that they apply only to new migrants, rather than the 49,000 who have already arrived under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme.

The committee says in its report today that the changes breached the European Convention on Human Rights.

The migrants came to Britain under a scheme that awarded points to people with the skills that Britain needed and offered them the prospect of permanent settlement. But the rules were tightened last year when ministers decided that settlement would take five years rather than four and changed the points system. Points were no longer awarded for work experience, significant career achievements and having a skilled partner. Instead they related to previous earnings, qualifications and age.

The changes were introduced after some migrants were found to be working in the food industry and as taxi drivers rather than in skilled work.

MPs have been deluged with complaints from migrants who sold their homes and brought their families with them under one set of rules, and who now have to apply to remain under another set.

The committee says that after the changes many migrants no longer qualify for permanent residency and face the prospect of deportation with their families, despite having made their homes in Britain. This was a clear breach of the right to respect for home and family life contained in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“The case for immediately revisiting the changes to the rules in Parliament is, in our, view overwhelming,” the report says.

It adds that the aims of the changes are legitimate but applying them to people who have already settled under existing criteria is neither “in accordance with the law nor proportionate to the legitimate aim which the changes seek to achieve”.

Andrew Dismore, the committee chairman, said: “These changes are patently unfair, truly a case of moving the goalposts. What is being proposed is to cheat on the deal through which people have legitimately made decisions over their life here in the UK.”

The Home Office said: “The Government is committed to managing the numbers of foreign workers entering the UK in the national interest. The changes were needed to ensure that tougher checks on foreign workers are carried out both here and abroad to guard against the risk of abuse.”

Amit Kapadia, of the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme Forum, said: “The Government lured migrants to come to the UK to benefit the economy, then they changed the rules. People have made sacrifices, selling property, abandoning careers and moving their families. These rules should not operate retrospectively.”

Migrants programme

Out-of-country migrants accepted for HSMP scheme between January 2004 and September 2006:

India 4,000
Pakistan 1,900
Nigeria 1,300
US 1,250
Australia 900

In-country applicants approved from January 2002 to September 2006:

India 11,854
Australia 3,078
Pakistan 2,002
South Africa 1,434
New Zealand 1,407

Source: Home Office

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