Immigration at record level

[The_Equalizer]

I don't think it's racist to question this stuff. I don't mind th signs at Southall, but I totally agree about the cost of translations - we shouldn't be doing that, but no doubt there is some rule that says we have to.

Another one that isn't mentioned too much is health tourism.

[yetanotherbob]

First of all, to make my own position clear, I too am bothered by uncontrolled, unnecessary immigration that adds no value to the country.
I'm quite upset with how parts of Southall have become slums and hideouts of illegal immigrants.

Originally Posted by Scoobos
lol sorry! Punjabi then.. still not an EU member state and as far as I was aware the national language of this country is English , and it sends a very bad message.

Southall has a large Punjabi population, some there since before the Indian independence.
About Punjab not being an EU member - try to think this way: In WW2, most states of the (present day) EU were at war with each other. Punjabi (Sikh) soldiers fought for Britain in their hundreds of thousands. Punjabi community just happened to grow in Southall over the decades.
(I'm don't intend to sound like Britain in 2012 owes them anything - just giving you a historical context. I don't condone people forming ghettos and not integrating well with the mainstream culture and language)

I really hope that I don't come across as racist or ignorant... I'm
I don't think it's racist to question this stuff.

Not at all. I'm sure a lot of people initially questioned the Cornish signs in Cornwall or even Welsh signs in Wales. Many would argue those are 'indigenous' cultures (and part of EU, so that's ok) so that doesn't apply to Punjabis.

I don't mind th signs at Southall, but I totally agree about the cost of translations - we shouldn't be doing that, but no doubt there is some rule that says we have to.

It's very likely the local residents or some ethnic body paid for it (sense of pride or something). Worth checking. It might also be that it got voted for in the local council?

I don't think it's racist to question this stuff. I don't mind th signs at Southall, but I totally agree about the cost of translations - we shouldn't be doing that, but no doubt there is some rule that says we have to.

Not at all. I might have played devil's advocate with my opinion and let's face it, I have first hand knowledge of the culture even though i keep my distance. But yes, no reason the state should have to pay for these.

[yetanotherbob]

No, ICTs aren't counted any more, Cameron thought it would help.

Very wrong. The generally accepted definition of a 'resident' in most countries is 180+ days of stay in a country. AFAIK, most ICT's stay on for longer than that (and home country treats them as 'non resident'). Even if they don't 'settle' , they are immigrants for all practical purposes until they 'emigrate'

[TimberWolf]

Very wrong. The generally accepted definition of a 'resident' in most countries is 180+ days of stay in a country. AFAIK, most ICT's stay on for longer than that (and home country treats them as 'non resident'). Even if they don't 'settle' , they are immigrants for all practical purposes until they 'emigrate'

I can't find an original government citation, but the following recent article more or less confirms it:

"...We are also serious in allowing the right kind of skilled immigrants, for example the IT professionals," he said, adding Britain had made exception to their rules to allow inter-company transfer without any limit in the IT sector.
Britain looking to double bilateral trade with India by 2015 - World - DNA

Giving figures, he said last year Britain issued 30,000 visas to the Indian students, with rate of approval being 75%, 60,000 Indian business community people were given visas last year, with 95% cases being approved while 95% of the 2.5 lakh Indian visitors were issued the visas.

[Scoobos]

Cheers bob for the reply.

Despite being crawly and meek about it, I still got neg rep and abuse for being pathetic heh...

I don't think leaving the euro is going to help us much tho.