Mystery: What does new ‘global immigration system’ mean for agents

The government has unveiled the spectre of a ‘global immigration system’ to be introduced from the end of 2020 - but with no details as to what it will be or how it will impact on the rental sector.

In correspondence to the Residential Landlords’ Association, written on October 31 in response to a letter on August 8, Robin Walker MP, under-secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union, says details of the new system will be set out “in due course.”

He then continues: “...including any European Economic Area nationals to evidence UK immigration status when seeking to work or rent in the UK as part of a fair and coherent approach to regulating access...”

Later in his letter Walker says: “We would of course engage the landlords consultative panel on any proposals to alter the checking requirements on landlords.”

Elsewhere in the letter the under-secretary says that from now until further notice (presumably the implementation of the ‘global immigration system’) all European Economic Area nationals - who already have an automatic right to rent in the UK under the Immigration Act 2014 - “will continue to evidence this to landlords and letting agents by using their national passports and ID cards.”

The letter also rejects calls for EEA nationals to be issued with hard-copy documents - as requested by some trade groups - saying that this would “inconvenience EEA nationals and fail to reflect the increasingly digital nature of our modern economy”.