How many unworkable pseudo nationalistic laws on immigration can this think tank come up with. Is there some prize we don't know about to the minister with the most unimplementable proposal.
God help the UK when other countries start applying the same rules to our indigenous population as we try to abandon the good ship UK.
And if the proposed wife happens to be mute?

Tony Woods, London, UK

Sorry to say it, but this should be the minimum qualification to live in Britain. For the women involved in arranged marriages, this might actually prove a lifeline as otherwise the husbands can keep them ignorant and without the native language, helpless. This happens, especially in male-dominated cultures (oddly, those with strong female participation appear to do well educationally, regardless of religion). On the larger scale, what is so bad about doing this? Although there may not be such "official" requirements in other countries, the picture is pretty much as good as - try getting around Spain without Spanish? People may laug at this proposal, but if we just let it carry on, there is no point.

John, Knutsford, UK

All this means is that more passports will be given out...and so even if that person then leaves the UK, future children will still be able to come, no questions asked.

chris, london, uk

When I walk down the street in London or sit in a tube carriage I often feel like a foreigner in my own country.The government keeps saying it is going to get tough on immigration but still they pour in.It seems we,the English, no longer have a country of our own.I'm sick of it and so is everyone I talk to.

James, London,

A friend of mine is a Canadian citizen married to a British citizen. When they moved to the UK, our dear government insisted they took an IELTS exam to prove the Canadian spouse spoke English - she has a degree in English, but apparently this is not enough evidence for the Einsteins running the Home Office....

Peter, London,

As an Englishman with a Japanese wife I find aspects of this somewhat concerning. We have been together many years, but any application on the part of my wife for British citizenship would mean automatic loss of her Japanese citizenship. This would prevent her returning to her homeland in old age should I die before her, or, perish the thought, if she should wish to divorce me and return home before we reach that stage.

Peter, Cambridge,

Shame, after years of extreme xenophobia, people still get major facts wrong. May I point out that apart from a tiny minority, A8 citizens ARE NOT qualified yet to apply for British citizenship. Even those who have been living here before 2004 on various visas other than full work permit can apply from 2010 (2004+5+1). The starting date is from the EU enlargement. I personally will lose almost four years of legal 'residency' for the purposes of naturalisation. As I went back to study law, my present student years will count half-weighted. Shameful! And they dare to say they want us to integrate? I would, but the law happens to make me spend more than a decade here before I could become a British citizen. That is, if you are from C. and E. Europe. If you are an EU(!) or a non-EU(!) citizen, than it is 5+1 years. Check the statistics, European economic migrants getting British citizenship on the basis of legal residency are rare. Don't confuse immigration and immigrants doing naturalisat

Andras, Southampton,

James,

From the last estimates, and it's all over on many websites there are more than 40,000 european citizens working in India.

A lot of them have enrolled their children in Indian schools.

To me, this is another dirty political gimmick in the election year to cater to the anti-immigration sentiment among some voters.

Having lived in this country for quite some time now, one can see the effects of globalization, but tell me, where can you not see immigration ! ....all the urbanized, industrialized societies in the world are experiencing the influx of people, and truly the key thing this world will have to balance will be our desire for ggrowth and social mobility of the peoples of the world which brings along tensions in community relations.

amit, london, london

I agree with Hamad. Those who comply with rules just have more hurdles to get past, more red tape to go through. Illegal immigrants will always bypass them.

Katie, London,

Did someone wake up Blinker Brown? ...a tad late methinks....

R E Wheeler, Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico

All this new rules are just targeted at Indians and as a whole South Asia. People from entire Europe can stay in UK even without knowing a single word of English. Millions migrate to UK from countries like Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, former erstwhile republics of Europe compared to the thousands from places like India.

The immigration issue is potrayed as such the problems are due to immigration from places like India. The people that come from India are very often highly educated and English speaking.

Majority of doctors and nurses in NHS among the immigrants is from India. Indian companies are taking over British and European companies and creating jobs. Indian companies are listed in London and other markets and thereby creating shareholder wealth.

It wont be long before we see people from Europe and elsewhere queing up for work permits to India and China.

James, London, UK

if other country applie the same logic, you will have thousands of Brits (who are notoriously unable to speak any other language) sent back home!
be carefoul...

riccardo, brussels,

Why? I married abroad. My wife didn't speak english, but learnt it very quickly upon arriving here. It seems that there are more hurdles created for those who do things right, yet illegals can get away with just about anything.

Hamad Lone, London, England

How will a surcharge on immigration applications help to plug the funding shortfall for social services? The majority of economic migrants are from eastern Europe and as EU citizens would escape this charge. Meaning it's the non-EU folks who will have to disproportionately shoulder this.

Calista, cambridge,

Yesterday I required the services of the local council housing authority. Of the 50 or so people in the waiting room I was the only native Englishman. I've lived and worked in England all my life and paid full taxes etc.
Now forced into early retirement on medical grounds, I was hoping I could be given a small council flat, but it seems I'm bottom of the pile as I don't have enough points, whatever that means.
I'd argue that, given all the other applicants appeared to be foreigners, I should be number one on their list.

colin, london, england

I started out life British and conrinued that way for a number of years, though Australian born. My sister travelled overseas on a British passport. We shoud be able to have dual citizenship, if we wanted it, as it was not our doing that things changed.

margie, victoria, australia

The UK, especially the "English" have been sold down the river...

Governed by Scots (who now have their own parliament) and a left-wing cabal (the vast majority of whom are either career politician's or independently wealthy) we're "forced" to accept economic migrants from all over Europe, which is the real problem.

What historical or family "ties" does someone from Poland, Estonia etc etc have with the UK? NONE. They have more "rights" to bring their spouse, girlfriend or children from Krakow than if I met and married a woman from Chiang Mai.

Why? Because they just happen to have been born a mere 1500km away!

It's some euro-beureaucrat's idea of a unified political state...Rather than the original premise of a "free-trade" zone.

Just wait until the Turks get full membership!

Anyone who raises legitimate concerns about where the UK is heading is branded a racist... Although a right-wing think tank...this makes some interesting reading:

http://www.migrationwatchuk.com/

NICK RAZZELL, LONDON, Uk

I see that the Government is trying to sound reassuringly tough on foreigners when speaking to the UK media, but the message is somewhat different when talking to an overseas audience.

Here is what is said in the Melbourne (Australia) Age

"Immigration minister Liam Byrne said only 49 per cent of eligible Australians currently took up British citizenship.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said the existing provision for some Australians to gain indefinite leave to remain, or permanent residency, without taking citizenship would not be abolished under the new plans.

But they would be encouraged to apply for citizenship because that was the only way they could gain access to welfare benefits like child support".

"People won't have to take up citizenship if they choose not to and if they don't, they won't be asked to leave the country,"

(i.e the message is, please apply anyway so you can trouser benefits).

Stan Gallagher, London, UK

Short of a complete time-out for all immigrants that do not share a kinship with western civilization and its Judeo-Christian ethic, it's only a matter of time before England as a nation with a distinct culture and civil society would cease to exist. What's occurring now is a case of the quartet playing "Nearer My God To Thee" as the ship of state sinks in a morass of multi-culturalism.

Stanislaus Pulle, Thousand Oaks, United States

You Londoners, be sure watch out for an outbreak of new organisations running "charity fundraising, sports groups or other voluntary work" - as if they don't already exist, at your immense cost, and solely in the imagination.

MikeM, St. Albans, England

Far too little, far too late! The doors are wide open and this government cannot see it. Ministers and polititians should get onto the streets of our cities, not an official guided tour, just get out and walk the streets for a couple of days. If immigration is not halted until government and the people can get some acurate figures as to the size of the problem, the government will be sacked come the general election! BRITISH PEOPLE REQUIRE URGENT ACTION ABOUT IMMIGRATION NOT EMPTY PROMISES! We want to know how many more are going to be allowed in? Our public services are swamped in some areas and in spite of empty promises about the money gained going to help areas most affected, the money will never get there, it will be promised to several other worthy causes like MP's expences!

Ray, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

The little boy has put his finger in the Dyke after half of it has washed away.
Too little and way too late, bring on the next election !
If the Government hadn't been spineless and faced this problem earlier then may have stood a chance. Too scared of upsetting the minority vote, well its the majority of us now footing the bill for the Governments pandering to the minority and being OTT with PC.

Gary, Coventry, West Mids

He obviously has not been to Newcastle, if speaking English is the ability to be understood in that language then hardly anyone can speak English there.

Peter Coates, Melbourne, Australia

So no knowledge of English
... vulnerble to exploitation
...cannot get access to the jobs market.
YA THINK???

Many cultures don't want their imported wives working let alone speaking to any natives. And as for exploitation of women, they are experts already.

Betty Fardean, Barking, Essex,

just a load of talk , nothing will come of it , it never does with this mob

martin taylor , hoddesdon herts ,

It all remains to be seen doesn't it? Labour have been full of gimmicks none of which have worked. It usually just turns out to be more rhetoric or 'illegal' and so immediately dropped.

judy, Liverpool, England

Heard it all before.

judy, Liverpool, England