Britain will end the free movement of labour immediately after Brexit and introduce measures to drive down the number of lower-skilled EU migrants, a leaked government document published by the Guardian newspaper says.
The interior ministry was not immediately available for comment on the document, which the Guardian said had yet to be endorsed by Prime Minister Theresa May's top team of ministers.
"Put plainly, this means that, to be considered valuable to the country as a whole, immigration should benefit not just the migrants themselves but also make existing residents better off," the paper said on Tuesday.
It also outlined a phased introduction of a new immigration system that ends the right to settle in Britain for most European migrants - and places tough new restrictions on their rights to bring in family members.
The report comes as Brexit minister David Davis conceded that a row over how much money Britain should pay the EU when it leaves the bloc will probably go on for the full duration of the EU exit talks.
The Brexit bill is a contentious issue both in Britain, where eurosceptics are keen to see as little money paid as possible, and in the EU, which is demanding Britain meets its existing commitments to the bloc.
"My expectation is that the money argument will go on for the full duration of the negotiation," he told parliament on Tuesday.
Britain, which began a two-year negotiating period in March, has said it is prepared to meet its international obligations and, last week, Davis said London was willing to offer more than the bare legal minimum.
The bill is one of three issues the EU is demanding progress on before it is willing to begin discussing Britain's future relationship with the bloc - something London is keen to move on to as soon as possible.
But, Davis stressed that Britain would not be pressured into cutting a deal just to move talks to the next stage.
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