British Ministers of Parliament on the Home Affairs Committee have given the new UK immigration points based system a "cautious welcome". However, they have also identified some problems with the system, in force since early last year.

MPs feel that the scheme should place a greater emphasis on training and job experience rather than degree qualifications and previous earnings. But they feel that the system strikes a good balance; employers need to show that they cannot find people from the resident labour market before employing from abroad.

One MP said it was "spurious" that a fresh out of university master's graduate would gain more points than a person with 25 years of global experience.

Other concerns included the length of time it takes to process visas and respond to appeals.

"It is imperative that the Border Agency considerably improves its performance in processing the backlog of undecided cases," said the chairman of the committee, Keith Vaz.