In years gone by, Britons would emigrate to Australia to become sheep-shearers in the Outback. Now the traffic is in the other direction.

Under Australian-style immigration rules due to come into force later this year, sheep-shearer is one a number of "shortage occupations" on the UK's most wanted list. Joining them, from a long list of jobs offered priority entry from outside the European Union will be ballet-dancers, horse-trainers, geologists, petrophysicists, high integrity pipe-welders and chefs.

There will be strict conditions attached, however, to ensure that those who are let in are sufficiently skilled to earn their way in 21st century Britain: pipe-welders will need at least three years experience; chefs will need to earn at least £8.10 an hour after deductions for board and lodging; and sheep-shearers will have to hold the British Wool Marketing Board bronze medal (or its equivalent) if they want to move from New South Wales to South Wales.

The "Points-Based System" or PBS is designed to ensure an uninterrupted flow of highly skilled workers, investors and entrepreneurs by scoring such people highly on the points-based assessments.

It is also designed to protect UK workers by reducing the number of positions open to non-EU workers from 1 million to 800,000 though the list of "shortage occupations" and a demand that employers prove they cannot fill a job locally before offering it to a foreigner.

Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister, called the scheme "the biggest shake-up of the immigration system for a generation".

He said: “The Australian-style points system is flexible, allowing us to raise or lower the bar according to the needs of business and taking population trends into account.

"Had the points system been in place last year there would have been 12 per cent fewer people coming in to work through the equivalent work permit route. On top of this, the strict new shortage list means 200,000 fewer jobs are available via the shortage occupation route.”

The list of jobs open to non-EU immigrants was written with advice from an expert panel - the Migration Advisory Committee or MAC - on which sectors suffered from a shortage of UK workers. The list includes civil and chemical engineers, some construction managers, geologists, and senior nurses.

Some sectors have complained that the scheme could produce new shortages, including in care homes, where the minimum wage for non-EU workers has been set at £8.80 an hour - a level described as unrealistic.

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