Under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the UK government has enacted strict visa regulations to reduce rising immigration rates. The revised rules, announced on Monday, involve a significant increase in the salary threshold for foreign workers seeking skilled visas and a tightening of regulations regarding family members as dependents.
Rishi Sunak’s decisive measures to reduce migration
Attributing the decision to tackling high levels of immigration, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed confidence that these radical measures would contribute to a substantial reduction in migration, ensuring it aligns with the UK’s best interests. .
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In a post on microblogging site X, Sunak said: “Immigration is excessively high. Today we are taking decisive action to reduce it. These measures will ensure that immigration always serves the best interests of the United Kingdom.”
In another tweet, he added: “We have just announced the biggest ever cut in net migration. No Prime Minister has done this before in history.”
Comprehensive immigration crackdown announced by UK Home Secretary
In his speech to the House of Commons, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly announced a comprehensive crackdown on immigration, extending its impact to Indian citizens.
The new measures include a significant increase in the salary threshold for skilled worker visas, affecting health and care visas, and restricting family members from accompanying medical professionals.
Critical changes to visa regulations: a five-point plan
The government’s five-point plan, which will come into force in the first half of 2024, aims to address concerns about immigration comprehensively. He cleverly outlined vital changes, including increases in salary thresholds for several visa categories, review of the Graduate Route visa and reform of the entry process for sectors facing staff shortages.
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Dependent constraints:
The government aims to reduce migration by restricting dependents from entering the UK. This forms a crucial part of their strategy to manage and control immigration.
Salary threshold increases:
Minimum wages for foreign workers and British workers or established people sponsoring family members will increase substantially. The income threshold for foreign workers will see an increase of almost 50%, rising from £26,200 to £38,700. A similar increase will apply to British citizens who sponsor family members.
Adjustment of health and care visas:
The Health and Care Visa, previously an important route for care workers and their dependents, will face new restrictions. Foreign care workers will no longer be allowed to bring dependents to the UK.
Additionally, care providers can only sponsor migrant workers in activities regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
Crackdown on cheap labor:
The government plans to eliminate the 20% wage discount for shortage occupations and introduce a wage list for immigrants. The Migration Advisory Committee will review this list to make it consistent with the higher wage thresholds and address concerns about cheap labour.
Restrictions for dependents of students:
Measures have been put in place to address the increase in students bringing dependents to the UK. These changes are expected to significantly affect net migration, with approximately 153,000 visas granted to dependents of sponsored students in the year ending September 2023.
The broad visa crackdown responds to record immigration figures released by the Office for National Statistics, which reported net migration of 672,000 people to the UK.
India dominates several visa categories, including skilled workers, medical professionals and students. The impact of these measures is expected to reshape the immigration landscape, aligning it with the UK’s changing needs and priorities.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn