Nina Hjerpset-Østlie Storbritannia står overfor en eksplosiv økning av briter som emigrerer til henholdsvis Australia, Canada og Sør-Afrika. I løpet av 10 år har antallet som emigrerer økt fra 300 til 4000 i uken. Så godt som alle som emigrerer er utdannede eller faglærte unge mellom 20 og 40 år. Mange oppgir den enorme innvandringen som årsaken til at de forlater hjemlandet:
BRITAIN is facing a mass exodus of people looking to escape the crime and grime of modern living.
The country’s biggest foreign visa consultancy firm has revealed that applications have soared in the last seven months by 80 per cent to almost 4,000 a week. Ten years ago the figure was just 300 a week.
Most people are relocating within the Commonwealth – in Australia, Canada and South Africa. They are almost all young professionals and skilled workers aged 20-40.
And many cite their reason for wanting to quit as immigration to these shores – and the burden it is placing on their communities and local authorities. The dearth of good schools, spiralling house prices, rising crime and tax increases are also driving people away.
Obtaining a visa to live abroad can cost as little as £1,500 for the right candidates. Plumbers, electricians, construction workers and doctors are famously in demand. The only obstruction to emigration from the UK is a criminal record, poor health, advancing age and being a «third country national».
Liam Clifford, en tidligere leder for britisk immigrasjonskontroll, startet firmaet globalvisas.com for 12 år siden og har nå 60 ansatte. Han mener det er ironisk at hovedårsaken til at britene emigrerer er befolkningsveksten i form av en massiv innvandring og den påfølgende belastningen på det offentlige tjenestetilbudet og små lokalsamfunn:
«It’s absolutely phenomenal. People are trying to get away to wherever they can, and most are successful.
«Ironically, one of the main reasons for leaving is the overstretch of services due to increasing immigration into the UK. People are looking for the better standard of living offered by other countries, as even the most idyllic villages in Britain are under pressure from rising populations.
Skilled labour is obviously an advantage, but so is speaking the English language. Most countries are harder to get into if you don’t speak English. UK plc simply isn’t fighting hard enough to keep its people. Some are telling us they are fed up with living in this country. Even business people are saying they’ve had enough.
«They’re saying ‘I can’t put my children into the right school, but if I move abroad I can’. Most people are very patriotic and don’t want to leave. They’re almost terrified about it. But they say they just have to.
Clifford påpeker at er skammelig at myndighetene nekter å innse at de ikke gjør nok for å beholde utdannede og faglærte mennesker. De som emigrerer er unge, produktive arbeidere som ikke lenger kan se for seg en fremtid hjemlandet.
They want to get married and settle down and buy homes, but they can’t see it happening here.
«And time and time again they are saying to us they don’t want to be seen as racist because they are quitting because of immigration. We tell them of course they’re not.»
According to the most recent Office of National Statistics figures, in 2005 the official number of people leaving UK shores was 352,000 – up from 249,000 in 1995. The majority – around 150,000 – migrated from London and the south east.
