An Australian style-points-based immigration system should be introduced into the UK by the end of the year.
Home Secretary Priti Patel will tell Cabinet colleagues that Britain needs to speed up the introduction of the new migration system to coincide with the UK's planned transition out of EU regulations on December 31.
It would be two years earlier than had previously been planned and would scrap a temporary extension of existing rules promised by Theresa May after pressure from business groups, the Daily Express reports.
Ms Patel wants to ensure restrictions on low-skilled migrants are in place by the end of 2020.
A Government source told the paper: "We need to deliver change and businesses need to be prepared for uncontrolled migration of low-skilled workers to end this year.
"There is a clear drive for talented and skilled workers from around the world to come to the UK, but we also need to see a reduction in the number of unskilled workers entering the UK and that's why this will be coming to an end."
The proposed changes could bring Prime Minister Boris Johnson into conflict with groups such as the Confederation of British Industry, which has said that
companies need "at least two years to adapt to any new immigration system".
Australia's points-based system is a "general skilled migration programme, where immigrants applying for a visa are typically selected based on 'economically relevant characteristics' like education, language skills and work experience," Dr Alan Gamlen of Monash University in Melbourne told the PA news agency.
"The exact way points are allocated changes depending on policy and the labour market but typically an applicant picks a 'skilled occupation' from a list and needs to score a minimum number of points," he added.
During the general election Mr Johnson said that such a scheme would ensure that lower-skilled workers came to Britain only when there was a "specific shortage" of staff in certain sectors.
