The UK government has unveiled plans to tighten visa requirements to limit the number of workers arriving in the country through legal channels. These measures, detailed in the upcoming Immigration White Paper, include new graduate-level requirements for skilled worker visas and limits on lower-skilled visas. A dedicated group will be tasked with identifying industries that overly rely on foreign labor, according to a Home Office announcement on Sunday.
The government intends to grant lower-skilled, time-limited visas only in cases where there is clear evidence of worker shortages, and where employers commit to increasing the recruitment and training of domestic workers. These new measures will be outlined when the government publishes the white paper in parliament on Monday.
"We inherited a failed immigration system where the previous government replaced free movement with a free market experiment," Yvette Cooper, the British interior minister, said in a statement. "We are taking decisive action to restore control and order to the immigration system."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to reduce migration to Britain, addressing growing concerns about the pressure on public services. This issue has led to protests, with some escalating into right-wing violence shortly after the Labour Party assumed office last summer.
The new restrictions follow an increase in the number of skilled worker visas, which have tripled since the program's creation by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in 2020. This initiative was presented as a means to help the UK gain more control over its borders after leaving the European Union.
Net migration to the UK reached a historic high of 906,000 in the year leading up to June 2023. The number of people staying permanently in the UK surged by 80% between 2021 and 2024, while the number of dependents arriving increased by 360% from 2021 to 2023.
Despite the government’s efforts to control immigration, it has faced criticism for not considering the impact on businesses and for insufficient action against the exploitation of visa holders, particularly in the care sector, where issues like trafficking and debt bondage have been reported.
Chris Philp, the Conservative Party’s home affairs spokesperson, told Bloomberg that the government’s measures do not go far enough to tackle the surge in legal migration. He called for Labour to support a binding cap on immigration and back his party's proposal to repeal the Human Rights Act as it relates to immigration matters.
The government intends to grant lower-skilled, time-limited visas only in cases where there is clear evidence of worker shortages, and where employers commit to increasing the recruitment and training of domestic workers. These new measures will be outlined when the government publishes the white paper in parliament on Monday.
"We inherited a failed immigration system where the previous government replaced free movement with a free market experiment," Yvette Cooper, the British interior minister, said in a statement. "We are taking decisive action to restore control and order to the immigration system."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to reduce migration to Britain, addressing growing concerns about the pressure on public services. This issue has led to protests, with some escalating into right-wing violence shortly after the Labour Party assumed office last summer.
The new restrictions follow an increase in the number of skilled worker visas, which have tripled since the program's creation by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in 2020. This initiative was presented as a means to help the UK gain more control over its borders after leaving the European Union.
Net migration to the UK reached a historic high of 906,000 in the year leading up to June 2023. The number of people staying permanently in the UK surged by 80% between 2021 and 2024, while the number of dependents arriving increased by 360% from 2021 to 2023.
Despite the government’s efforts to control immigration, it has faced criticism for not considering the impact on businesses and for insufficient action against the exploitation of visa holders, particularly in the care sector, where issues like trafficking and debt bondage have been reported.
Chris Philp, the Conservative Party’s home affairs spokesperson, told Bloomberg that the government’s measures do not go far enough to tackle the surge in legal migration. He called for Labour to support a binding cap on immigration and back his party's proposal to repeal the Human Rights Act as it relates to immigration matters.
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