The UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has unveiled a series of measures aimed at reducing migration.One significant change involves raising the minimum salary requirement for skilled worker visas from £26,000 to £38,700.
Cleverly claims that implementing these rules could lead to a yearly decrease of 300,000 migrants.
Health and social care visa holders, however, are exempt from the higher salary threshold.
Despite this exemption, care workers in these sectors will no longer be allowed to bring dependents, impacting their ability to bring partners and children.
This means that if a UK citizen marries a non-UK citizen, their spouse cannot move to the UK until they meet the £38,700 income threshold.
In 2022, the net migration in the UK reached a total of 745,000, representing the disparity between individuals immigrating to the country and those emigrating.
The government’s proposal is part of a broader effort by the embattled Conservative government to crack down on record levels of migration, considered a key battleground in the upcoming general election expected next year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office has heralded these proposals as “the biggest clampdown on legal migration ever.”
However, critics argue that such measures could have negative consequences, particularly for the state-run National Health Service (NHS), which already faces staff shortages.
The main opposition Labour party views immigration as a significant issue in the upcoming elections, scheduled to be held by January 2025 at the latest. Sunak, under pressure due to the high net migration in 2022, has pledged to reduce new arrivals.
James Cleverly, the interior minister, stated that the plan would result in 300,000 fewer people coming to the UK in the coming years.
The changes are set to take effect early next year, affecting skilled foreign workers and their families.
Despite exemptions for health and social care workers, concerns have been raised about potential staff shortages in these sectors, further exacerbated by the impact of Brexit.
NHS Providers, representing hospital groups in England, and Care England, a charity for independent adult social care providers, have expressed deep concerns about measures that might deter care workers from coming to the UK.
The government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda faced legal challenges last month, but Cleverly aims to finalize a new treaty in Rwanda soon and introduce emergency legislation for deportation flights by spring.
