Watch as Nicola Sturgeon reveals details of her Scottish visa plans

Nicola Sturgeon has revealed details of her plans to introduce a new Scottish Visa to address depopulation and cut skills gaps.

According to the First Minister, the proposals have been designed to work in line with devolution - but that the principles and the practical measures proposed could be adapted should Scotland become independent in future.

She added that introducing a Scottish Visa would allow Scotland to "attract and retain people" with the skills and attributes needed for the country to "flourish".

The details set out in the policy paper Migration: Helping Scotland Prosper show how the Scottish Government plan would see responsibility for immigration policy split with the UK Government.

The First minister outlined the plans for a Scottish visa at a press conference in Edinburgh.

• READ MORE: SNP set to unveil ‘Scottish visa’ plan to combat BrexitMigrants wanting to live in Scotland could choose to apply for a Scottish visa - with residence in Scotland and maintaining a Scottish tax code a requirement for this - or one of the existing immigration routes offered by the UK Government.

Ms Sturgeon added that these proposals were "important and urgent", stating that in contrast to the rest of the UK, all of Scotland's population growth for the next 25 years is projected to come from migration and that new UK Government immigration controls and the end of free movement after Brexit are expected to exacerbate the risk of skills gaps and labour shortages in Scotland.

The First Minister said: “Migration to Scotland supports economic growth and the delivery of public services and helps to address the serious issue of long term demographic change – as well as enhancing and sustaining our communities.

“Yet the latest proposals from the UK Government to control immigration and end freedom of movement would be disastrous for our economy and society and would risk acute labour shortages.

“Migration is an issue which is crucial for our future, but the Scottish Government doesn’t currently have the powers needed to deliver tailored immigration policies for Scotland.

“Devolving immigration powers by introducing a Scottish Visa would allow Scotland to attract and retain people with the skills and attributes we need for our communities and economy to flourish.”

Under one of the proposed models for the visa scheme, which draws heavily on similar schemes which operate in Australia and Canada, the Scottish Government would define the criteria for the new visa, receive and assess applications and then nominate successful candidates to the UK Government.

The UK Government would then verify the identity of applicants and make relevant security checks before issuing a visa to successful applicants.