Business Immigration

"This Government plans, following independence, a points-based immigration system ......The system will enable us to meet the needs of Scottish society with greater flexibility."1

It would be different from Westminster's "aggressive approach"1a to immigration

Immigration policy in an independent Scotland would undoubtedly be different to the current UK policy. The White Paper states that the UK's immigration policy is strongly focused on the requirements of London and the South-East and does not operate to serve the needs of Scotland. Population growth in Scotland has been at a much lower rate than the rest of the UK, meaning that the UK Government's attitude to caps on immigration have not benefitted the Scottish economy.

The attitude to immigration would be far more liberal than current UK policy. Although the system would still be a points-based approach akin to the current UK system, the criteria for point-scoring has the potential to be very different. For example, the current UK maintenance thresholds would be lowered to fall more in line with Scottish requirements.

"Nor will we seek membership of the Schengen area. Instead, an independent Scotland will remain part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) with the rest of the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands."2

EU membership and the associated requirements that it brings will be one, if not the, most significant topic throughout the independence debate. The majority of EU states are party to the Schengen Agreement which provides for the free movement of EU nationals throughout the Schengen Area. without the need for any formal border checks or passport controls. However, the UK and Ireland opted out of the Schengen area and still retain the right to carry out passport checks on EU nationals who enter their respective countries.

The UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are, however, party to their own travel union known as the Common Travel Area. This allows the free movement of persons throughout this area without any passport checks or border patrols. The Scottish Government wants to be part of the Common Travel Area and not the Schengen Area. However, it has been suggested that the EU will make joining Schengen a pre-condition of an independent Scotland's EU membership. This would be wholly incompatible with membership of the Common Travel Area and could necessitate some form of formal border patrols between Scotland and England, who would retain the right...