The governments new[ly reannounced] citizenship tests appear to be expecting immigrants to do more this country than is ever expected of "native" Britons.
Immigrants who want to become British and settle permanently in the UK will need to pass more tests to "prove their worth" to the country under new plans.
Some migrants may also have to pay into a fund towards public services...
Migrants would find their route to citizenship and full access to benefits, such as higher education, accelerated if they can prove they are "active" citizens.
This would include charity work, involvement in the local community and letters from referees. (BBC)
So they have to do more than just work and pay taxes - which is itself something that way too many Britons are too lazy to do - but they also have to contribute extra towards public services through an extra levy on their visa, expected to raise a minuscule [in the scheme of public services] £15 million a year. Rather short of the £250 million needed by councils to prevent the need for council tax rises, wouldn't you say?Some migrants may also have to pay into a fund towards public services...
Migrants would find their route to citizenship and full access to benefits, such as higher education, accelerated if they can prove they are "active" citizens.
This would include charity work, involvement in the local community and letters from referees. (BBC)
But not only that, now migrants are to be expected to do charity work and the like in order to show that they are "active" citizens and earn the right to be a subject of the Queen. We don't expect any "native" Britons to do this, so why should an immigrant's citizenship be reliant on doing it?
I don't think that it is all bad though. The idea that citizenship should be have to be earned is a good one, but this is hardly a new revelation. And the same goes for the requirement to speak English. Nothing new, trotted out again by a different Home Secretary and with a few slight differences to go with it.
Basically, this is a gimmick. None of it will cover citizens of other EU countries, and so is basically meaningless in reality.
I'm not exactly thrilled by the Conservatives suggestion of "a limit on the level of immigration" either. Rather, immigration is good for us, and fuelled by economic expansion and the sheer laziness of too many "native" Britons. Benefits: the cause of immigration.
