The UK government has outlined plans to end what it calls the “failed free market experiment” in its immigration system. The new policy will limit skilled worker visas to jobs at the graduate level and require businesses to invest in local worker training.
The announcement follows the victory of the right-wing anti-immigration Reform UK party in the local elections earlier this month, which has increased pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to reduce net immigration numbers.
Under the new policy, skilled visas will be granted only for graduate-level positions, and visas for low-skilled jobs will be restricted to sectors critical to the national industrial strategy. In return, businesses must increase training for British workers.
This policy will be included in a white paper set to be released on Monday, detailing how ministers plan to reduce immigration.
Starmer wrote on social media that previous Conservative governments “lost control of our borders,” adding that he would “not tolerate this.” He promised to regain control and reduce immigration with “tough new measures.”
The Labour Party’s election manifesto last year committed to significantly reducing net immigration, which stood at 728,000 for the 12 months ending in June 2023.
The large influx of legal immigration was one of the main reasons for the UK’s 2016 vote to leave the EU, with voters unhappy about the free movement of EU workers. After Brexit in 2020, the Conservative government lowered the thresholds, allowing workers in fields such as yoga teaching, dog walking, and DJing to qualify for skilled worker visas.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that “net migration must fall.” She described the previous immigration system as a “failure” and vowed to take “decisive action” to restore control and order.
The Home Office also announced new powers to deport foreign criminals, with plans to broaden the scope for deportation beyond those sentenced to over a year in prison.
Cooper added that radical reforms would also target low-skilled immigration, with a plan to cut 50,000 low-skilled work visas this year.
Additionally, clearer rules will be set in areas such as family reunification to reduce abuse within the immigration system.
Despite Brexit, the UK’s immigration numbers have surged due to new work visa rules and the arrival of immigrants through special programs for Ukraine and Hong Kong.
As of June 2023, net migration reached a record 906,000, compared to just 184,000 in the same period in 2019 when the UK was still part of the EU.
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