Shinzo Abe called for more “predictability” about the process after the leaders met for brief talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China.
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Theresa May has ruled out the points-based immigration system championed by Brexit campaigners, saying it would not give Britain full control of its borders.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she wants a new system to give the government control over who is able to enter the country after it leaves the European Union, rather than a points-based system that selects candidates based on criteria.
The system controls the variety and number of workers moving to the country, and according to the country’s Department of Immigration is “specifically created to target migrants who have skills or outstanding abilities that will contribute to the Australian economy” and fill labour shortages.
“He (Davis) will be making a statement to parliament this week about the work that the government has been doing over the summer and obviously how we are going to take that forward in shaping the sort of relationship we want with the EU”, May told the BBC in an interview recorded before she left Britain for the G20 summit in China.
May, who favoured staying in the European Union but has pledged to deliver on the June 23 referendum vote by steering Britain out of the bloc, said such systems were hard to manage and there was no “silver bullet” on immigration.
It has called for maintenance of trade in goods with no burdens of customs duties and procedures, unfettered investment, maintenance of an environment in which services and financial transactions across Europe can be provided and carried out smoothly, access to workforces with the necessary skills and harmonised regulations and standards between the United Kingdom and the EU.
Its 27 partners are so far adamant that it can not enjoy full trade benefits unless it continues to let in European Union nationals as before.
European Council President Donald Tusk, who represents the leaders of the EU, said that “it might sound brutal”, but ” we need to protect interests of the members of EU that want to stay together, not the ones who decide to leave”.
She is also expected to have a brief discussion with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Mrs May said “people wanted to see. control” and she wanted to “respond to the voice of the British people”.
Earlier Mr Farage, a leading Brexit campaigner, told Sky News the idea of a points-based system had “caught the public’s imagination” during the referendum campaign and Mrs May’s comments “look like backsliding”.
Asked if she would rule out contributing funds to the European Union she said: “What we are doing at the moment is looking, making our preparations before we actually trigger Article 50 and get into the formal negotiating process”.
Downing Street said New Zealand and Canada are among other countries to have also offered the British government expertise, adding that it reflected support from countries around the world to make a success of Brexit.
On Monday she will also meet Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull amid speculation the country could be one of the first in line to sign a trade deal with a post-Brexit UK.
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“I’m not going to be calling a snap election”, May said.
