Immigration reforms for ‘complete reset’ to be introduced at Wetminster

Legislation to end the recruitment of care workers from abroad is set to be introduced as part of a raft of immigration reforms.

New rules to be laid in Parliament on Tuesday will also seek to increase salary and skills thresholds up to degree level for skilled workers, which will cut eligibility for 111 occupations.

The salary threshold for skilled worker visas will rise from £38,700 to £41,700 under the proposals.

A new time-limited temporary shortage list will also be introduced until the end of 2026 for below degree level, where recruiting foreign workers is key to build critical infrastructure or industrial strategy.

But those workers will no longer be able to bring their families and will not be entitled to salary and visa fee discounts.

Immigration White Paper

The legislative measures are the first policy changes to be introduced from the UK Government’s Immigration White Paper to tighten controls and cut migration to the UK.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: ”We are delivering a complete reset of our immigration system to restore proper control and order, after the previous government allowed net migration to quadruple in four years.

“These new rules mean stronger controls to bring migration down, to restore order to the immigration system and to ensure we focus on investing in skills and training here in the UK.”

The changes, if approved by MPs and peers, will come into force from July 22.

English language requirements

Further measures from the White Paper such as increasing English language requirements and raising the immigration skills charge are also expected to be in place by the end of the year.

The White Paper is aimed at reducing numbers, clamping down on abuses of the system and ending a reliance on cheap foreign labour.

Home Office estimates indicate that changes from the plan could reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year, when looking at eight of its proposals including on study and work routes and a higher level of English language requirement.

But the move to scrap care worker visas has sparked concerns from the sector, with GMB national officer Will Dalton describing the decision as “potentially catastrophic” as the care sector was “utterly reliant on migrant workers” and still had more than 130,000 vacancies across the country.

The Home Office believes there are 40,000 potential members of staff originally brought over by “rogue” providers who could work in the sector while UK staff are trained up.

Transitional arrangements for overseas care workers already in the UK have also been set out on Tuesday, according to the department.