On Monday, Britain will unveil plans to restrict jobs going to skilled workers from overseas, including India, amid recession leading to a poor job market.

Home Office sources said that British firms will be forced to advertise jobs solely through UK job centres for a month - instead of the present 15 days - before being allowed to recruit outside Europe. The qualification period for skilled foreign workers employed by multinational companies to become eligible for transfers to Britain will be doubled to a year.

The measures recommended by the Migration Advisory Committee are designed to tilt the odds in favour of British jobseekers and those from EU countries with a right to work in the UK.

The threshold of income at which foreign nationals become eligible for a work permit under tier 2 of the points-based immigration system, which covers skilled workers, will be raised from 17,000 to 20,000, effectively shrinking the job pool for skilled overseas workers.