THE UK Government has announced significant changes to immigration rules to significantly reduce net migration as Labour seek to head off the electoral threat from Reform UK.
The Prime Minister, who said the country risks becoming an “island of strangers” without better integration, said he wanted net migration to have fallen “significantly” by the next general election – but refused to set a target number.
The plan, which includes changes to the way human rights laws are applied, is aimed at making the immigration system “controlled, selective and fair”, Keir Starmer said.
What are the new immigration rules for skilled workers?
Keir Starmer’s Government has set out plans in an immigration white paper, which sets out a new system for settlement and citizenship in the UK.
The new system will end automatic settlement and citizenship for anyone living here for five years, with migrants instead required to spend a decade in the UK before applying to stay – although workers who significantly contribute to society such as nurses, doctors and engineers could be fast-tracked.
Migrants will also be required to display a higher standard of English across all immigration routes including, for the first time, their adult dependents.
Proposals also see the end to the international recruitment of care workers, with the Home Office arguing there are 40,000 potential members of staff who were originally brought over by “rogue” providers and are now able to take up jobs in the sector while homegrown workers are trained up.
The Home Office will be notified of all offences committed by foreign criminals, rather than just those which result in prison terms, with wider powers to deport offenders and cancel visas.
How do the new immigration rules work?
Changes are proposed to be made to the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights in an attempt to reduce the number of people claiming “exceptional circumstances” over the right to family life in order to remain in the UK.
The immigration skills charge, paid by firms sponsoring a migrant worker, will be hiked by 32%.
Skills thresholds for work visas will be returned to degree level – reversing a system that saw the proportion of lower-skilled visas issued increase between 2021 and 2024.
For occupations below this level, access to the immigration system will be strictly time-limited and based on evidence of shortages in the supply of labour.
A “limited pool” of refugees and displaced people recognised by the United Nations’ agency responsible will be eligible to apply for jobs through existing skilled-worker routes.
What do new immigration rules mean for international students?
The tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students will be made stricter.
The ability for graduates to remain in the UK after their studies will be cut from two years to 18 months.
Why is the Government doing this?
The Government’s promise to “take back control of our borders” comes as Labour battles a surge in support for Reform UK, who won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election and council seats across England with policies including a “freeze” on immigration.
Net migration – the number of people arriving in the UK minus those leaving – stood at 728,000 in the year to mid-2024, down from the peak of 906,000 the previous year.
In a white paper setting out the proposals, Starmer hit out at the Conservatives for running a “one-nation experiment in open borders” because “the damage it has done to our country is incalculable”.
That included pressure on housing, public services and the economy, where there were perverse incentives to hire foreign workers.
He addressed the nation in a Downing Street press conference, insisting the plan was not motivated by a desire to take on Reform and the Tories but “because it is right, because it is fair and because it is what I believe in”.
What has the reaction been?
Confederation of British Industry chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said “immigration policy is preventing businesses from accessing critical skills to deliver investment, putting at risk growth and jobs in the rest of their workforce” and also hit out at “changes that risk making the UK a less attractive place to study”.
The promised end to overseas recruitment of care workers also caused alarm in the health sector.
NHS Employers chief executive Danny Mortimer said: “Social care and health leaders will be concerned about the risk that these proposed changes to immigration rules pose to vital social care provision.”
