Kaukab Stewart, the SNP’s Equalities Minister, has tabled a motion which will ask the Scottish Parliament to back calls for the UK Government “to accept the Rural Visa Pilot proposal and to work directly and constructively with the Scottish Government to ensure that the needs of Scotland’s employers, communities and public services are fully reflected within the immigration system”.
The Scottish Rural Visa pilot proposal, put forward in September 2022, seeks to address depopulation and labour shortages in rural and island communities by creating a tailored migration route allowing workers and their families to settle and contribute to these areas.
READ MORE: Labour ‘slapping down’ their Scottish MPs on immigration policy, SNP say
Ahead of the General Election, Scottish Labour deputy leader Baillie told The Herald that a new Labour government would be open to talks with ministers in Edinburgh about a “Scottish visa”.
However, since being elected in July, the Labour Government at Westminster has shut down any suggestion that the idea is being considered.
Now, Scottish Labour will also look to shut down calls for the bespoke system from Holyrood.
Rhoda Grant MSP has tabled an amendment to Stewart’s motion which would remove any request for the UK Government to act – despite acknowledging that “there have previously been successful models of differentiated migration schemes, tailored to Scotland’s specific needs, such as Fresh Talent”.
The Scottish Labour Fresh Talent visa scheme, launched in 2005, aimed to attract and retain skilled individuals in Scotland by allowing international graduates of Scottish universities to live and work in Scotland for up to two years after completing their studies.
Grant’s motion will instead call for the “Scottish Government to use its existing powers to encourage population retention and internal migration”.
Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour has tabled an amendment which offers no solutions to the depopulation issues in Scotland’s rural areas. Instead, it only notes that “Scotland receives 6% of net migration to the UK, which is lower than its 8.4% population share” and claims this is due to “the Scottish Government’s failures”.
The Tory amendment further “asserts that immigration is a matter reserved to the UK Parliament and not in the jurisdiction of the Scottish Parliament”.
The Greens’ Maggie Chapman has also tabled an amendment. This would leave the SNP motion intact but add at the end that the Scottish Parliament “remains committed to ensuring that all migrants in Scotland have all of their rights fulfilled; recognises the pervasive and increasingly hostile anti-migrant rhetoric from some politicians and media sources; believes that further action is required by both the UK and Scottish governments to support people displaced due to the climate crisis, and calls on the UK Government to remove the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions that limit the support and services available to many, especially those seeking asylum”.