There's a renewed push in London for New Zealanders and Australians to be granted special status to live and work in the United Kingdom without restriction.

London

A Commonwealth Exchange (CE) think tank report proposes "bilateral mobility zones" be established between the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The plan is based on an idea by London's mayor, Boris Johnson, who was outraged last year when an Australian teacher was kicked out of Britain while European Union citizens enjoy unfettered access.

The CE report argues so-called "Boris bilaterals" should be modelled on the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement (TTTA) between Australia and New Zealand.

"The TTTA should be seen as a starting point for the UK to build a flexible, fair, reasonable and reciprocal regime," report author Tim Hewish writes.

"New Zealand's two-year wait for welfare provision and five-year wait for eligibility for citizenship appear sensible ideas that the UK may wish to replicate."

The report acknowledges some in Australia and New Zealand might be concerned about being swamped by Brits.

The mobility zones would be two-way streets and the UK has a population of 63 million compared to Australia's 23 million and New Zealand's 4.5 million.

The author argues there's little chance of change ahead of the UK general election in May 2015 but after that bilaterals could be up and running within six months.

In the longer term, the new approach could be opened up to include other Commonwealth countries, Mr Hewish writes.