Prime Minister Theresa May successfully passed her bill to trigger Article 50, thus clearing her first hurdle on the road to Brexit. With the UK leaving the EU there has been discussions about what opportunities it will bring for other countries to fill the potential void, in particular, what the Commonwealth Countries can do for the UK.
Immigration was one of the focal issues surrounding the referendum, and the uncertainty around topic has everyone on edge. If EU citizens are eventually subject to current non-EU immigration rules, then there is the idea that current immigration caps for non-EU citizens would increase because the UK would then have full control as to who they allow into the country.
Although, many people voted to leave the EU based on the idea that the UK can choose to limit immigration numbers, they do have positive attitudes towards Commonwealth citizens. 58% of Britons surveyed by the Royal Commonwealth Society approved of EU-style free movement between Commonwealth Countries. But the question remains: when the UK officially leaves the EU, will it benefit Commonwealth Countries? If the UK can limit the number of workers coming to the UK from Europe, then it would be able to open other avenues to allow more non-EU workers. One large area of concern is the predicted shortage of nurses in the UK. The current cap of Tier 2 visas, which cover skilled works, has a monthly limit which resulted in the rejection of 2,700 applications in mid to late 2015 -- most qualified nurses seeking a Tier 2 visa to the UK come from India, a Commonwealth Country. It may seem that limiting EU nationals will increase the demand for labour from other countries, however limits will still be placed on the number of visas granted whether from the EU or non-EU countries. That is, if the UK decides to limit the number of EU nationals coming into the UK. However, visa limits do not account for funding cuts in health care resulting in the inability to hire new staff.
Canadians are not seen as immigrants by those who want to leave the EU. Limiting the number of EU nationals into the UK will not guarantee that it will need to rely on more workers coming from other countries. The strain on the UK National Health Service is an immediate one and visa caps could be changed if there was a desire to do so. Despite our long-standing relationship and history, it is difficult for Canadians to immigrate to the UK. It would be a welcome change to have an EU style of free movement, but Brexit is unlikely to prompt such a major shift.