U.K. to Tighten Immigration Rules After Record Inflow

If you are considering applying for a U.K. Skilled Worker visa it might be sensible to act sooner rather than later since there is no knowing how the prospective changes might impact you

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to tighten immigration rules after revised figures showed net migration climbed to nearly a million last year.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed net migration hit a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023, 166,000 more than previously estimated, mounting pressure on the Labour government to curb migrant inflow. Net migration is the difference between the number of people coming to stay in the United Kingdom for the long-term minus those leaving.

ONS estimated net migration to have fallen by a fifth to 728,000 in the year to June 2024, mainly due to restrictions on foreign students and health and care workers introduced this year by the Conservative government, according to a release published 28th November.

The numbers “should shock all of us,” the Prime Minister said at a press conference called to discuss the release where he promised fresh measures to substantially reduce immigration, according to The Times. Starmer wants immigration to “come down significantly” in the coming years but rejected calls from the Tories to impose a cap, insisting it would have no “meaningful impact,” according to The Times.

The previous Conservative Party government introduced a series of measures to curb the inflow of foreigners after immigration surged after the pandemic. It disallowed foreign care workers from bringing dependants on their visas from 11th March 2024 while students were also prevented from bringing dependants into the country from 1st January this year, apart from those in postgraduate research courses or courses with government-funded scholarships.

ONS said the revision in last year’s numbers was caused by a more accurate mechanism for counting migrants and changing trends that showed international students were staying longer in the U.K.

Starmer said the British economy had become “hopelessly reliant” on ­immigration while 2.8 million people were out of work on long-term sickness and one in eight young people were not in either employment, education or training, according to The Times.

The government will publish a white paper early next year setting out ­reforms to the points-based immigration system that will ensure employers can hire foreign workers only if they are also training domestic workers.

The Labour government, which swept the July 4 general elections, has asked the Migration Advisory Committee to evaluate the continuing reliance of key sectors, particularly information technology and engineering, to international recruitment. The review is part of the Labour government’s new strategy to not use immigration as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems in the U.K.

If you are considering applying for a Skilled Worker visa for the U.K. it might be sensible to act sooner rather than later. There is no knowing how these prospective changes might impact you. One thing is pretty certain: that getting into the U.K. and achieving permanent residency will not get any easier.