Immigration: Cameron Says No Job, No Benefits

Tough new measures to curb immigrants' access to housing and benefits will be unveiled later by David Cameron.

The Prime Minister will use a keynote speech to warn those coming to Britain that it will no longer be a "soft touch".

Mr Cameron is the latest party leader after Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg to address immigration, which is a top concern for voters.

In moves to tackle the "something-for-nothing" welfare culture, arrivals from the European Union face being stripped of jobseekers' benefits.

They will lose the allowance after six months unless they can prove they have been actively looking for a job and stand a "genuine chance" of finding one.

Immigrant families will also be kept off council house waiting lists for up to five years.

Immigrants will be kept off council housing waiting lists for five years

Local authorities will have to introduce minimum residency times of between two and five years for joining waiting lists - or justify why they are not.

The speech comes as the UK Border Agency faced renewed criticism for its failure to tackle the backlog of asylum cases.

MPs on the Home Affairs select committee condemned the lack of progress as it warned the backlog would take 24 years to clear.

Mr Cameron is likely to cite figures showing that nearly one in 10 new social lettings go to foreign nationals. The proportion has risen from 6.5% in 2007-08 to 9% in 2011-12.

The Government is also pledging to beef up the "range and depth" of questions in the habitual residence test, which checks that people meet residence requirements for housing and income-related benefits.

Immigrants must prove they have a 'genuine chance' of getting a job

Mr Cameron will also target illegal immigration - doubling the maximum fine for companies that employ illegal workers to £20,000.

And he will signal action against so-called "health tourism" that could mean non-EU nationals have to prove they hold insurance before getting care.

"While I have always believed in the benefits of immigration, I have also always believed that immigration has to be properly controlled," the Prime Minister will say.

"As I have long argued, under the last government this simply wasn't the case. Immigration was far too high and badly out of control. Net migration needs to come down radically from hundreds of thousands a year to just tens of thousands.

"And as we bring net migration down so we must also make sure that Britain continues to benefit from it.

Immigrants to the UK take part in a Citizenship Ceremony

"That means ensuring that those who do come here are the brightest and the best the people we really need with the skills and entrepreneurial talent to create the British jobs and growth that will help us to win in the global race."

In his spring conference address over the weekend, UKIP leader Nigel Farage claimed his willingness to talk about immigration was one of the main reasons for the party's surge in popularity.

Concerns have also been rising over an influx from Bulgaria and Romania when movement restrictions are loosened at the end of this year.

The increasing political focus on the issue was emphasised last week when Mr Clegg ditched the Lib Dem policy of offering an amnesty to illegal immigrants who have been in the country for more than 10 years.

He admitted the move would risk "undermining public confidence".

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