Crew prepare a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft before the world's first commercial biofuel flight to Amsterdam from Heathrow Airport in London
Crew prepare a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft before the world's first commercial biofuel flight to Amsterdam from Heathrow Airport in London February 24, 2008. Reuters/Luke MacGregor

London Mayor Boris Johnson is supporting a report calling for New Zealanders and Australians to live and work freely in Britain. According to reports, Johnson wrote the foreword of a Commonwealth Exchange report calling for Kiwis and Australians to enjoy the same rights in the United Kingdom like the rest of the citizens of countries in the European Union.

In a report by the Guardian, Johnson was outraged in 2013 when an Australian teacher was barred entry into Britain, while European Union citizens enjoy unrestricted access. The Commonwealth Exchange Report pushes for bilateral mobility zones to be established among UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. The report outlines "Boris bilaterals" that should follow similar guidelines as the Trans-Tasman Travel Agreement between New Zealand and Australia.

Johnson hopes that the proposed scheme would prevent the dramatic drop in the number of Australians migration to the UK. The London mayor had first proposed the idea of a bilateral labour mobility zone among the three countries in September 2013.

Report author and co-founder of Commonwealth Exchange Tim Hewish said the TTTA should be used as the basis for the UK to create a "flexible, fair, reasonable and reciprocal regime." He added that New Zealand has a two-year wait for immigrants to access welfare benefits and a five-year wait for eligibility for citizenship. Hewish, a former academic and Conservative researcher, believes the provisions should appear to be sensible that the UK might want to follow.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he would welcome the proposal but remains skeptical about its success in the UK. Mr Key explained that immigration was "a major political issue" in the UK, reports said. He believes the proposal might face a lot of challenges, especially with the upcoming election in 2015.

The Commonwealth Exchange report said migration in the Commonwealth countries have failed in the last ten years in contrast to the immigration from the EU which had more than doubled in number. The report noted that changes might not happen until elections are over. It also recommended the extension of the Youth Mobility visa to more Commonwealth nations.