The UK has set out plans to stop relying on "cheap labour from Europe" with a post-Brexit immigration points-based system that prioritises access for highly skilled workers from across the world.

Workers will need to meet criteria including specific skills and the ability to speak English, the government said, and those applying will need to have a job offer.

The plans have led to outrage, with critics, members of the opposition and some business groups condemning them as unrealistic.

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Concern over the impact of high levels of immigration from the European Union was one of the key drivers behind Britain's 2016 vote to leave the bloc and the government has said it plans to bring overall migration numbers down.

The new system will assign points for specific skills, qualifications, salaries or professions, and only give visas to those who meet a score of 70.

It will come into force from January 1, 2021 and will treat EU and non-EU citizens the same.

[Courtesy: UK Home Office]

"We have got a number of routes through the points-based immigration scheme that will enable people to come here with the right kind of skills that can support our country and our economy," said Priti Patel, the interior minister.

But business groups said that many firms relied on overseas labour and cautioned there might not be enough domestic workers to tend crops, care for patients and serve food - a deficit that could undermine the world's fifth-largest economy.

EU citizens will not need a visa to enter Britain as a visitor for up to six months.

The Home Office said it would follow a recommendation made last month by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), an independent body which advises the government, to lower the minimum general salary threshold for skilled migrants to 25,600 pounds ($34,500) a year, from 30,000 pounds.

There will be no specific entry route for low-skilled workers, something the government hopes will help reduce the number of migrants.

"We need to shift the focus of our economy away from reliance on cheap labour from Europe and instead concentrate on investment in technology and automation. Employers will need to adjust," the government said in a policy document setting out its plans.

The MAC estimated the impact of the government's planned salary and skills thresholds would mean around 70 percent of European Economic Area citizens who have arrived in Britain since 2004 would not have been eligible for a visa.

Students will be covered by the points-based system, the government said, while there will be separate initiatives for scientists, graduates, National Health Service workers and those in the agricultural sector.

National Farmers' Union President Minette Batters said she had "serious concerns" about the plans.

"As the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, British food and farming is at the very core of our economy and any immigration policy must deliver for its needs.

"For farm businesses, it is about having the full range of skills needed - from pickers and packers to meat processors and vets - if we are to continue to deliver high-quality, affordable food for the public. Failure to provide an entry route for these jobs will severely impact the farming sector," she said in a statement.

Jennifer Cassidy, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford, tweeted: "I just can’t get over that £25.6k is considered the cut-off point for 'low-skilled'. Do they have any idea what the salaries are for most people in the country? Well, good luck filling any of the job sectors."

Maya Goodfellow, author of Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats, said: "The government's immigration plans include a dog-whistle demand that people speak English and entrenching class inequalities by going after people they call 'low skilled'."