Key proposals include:
Tighter visa controls including:
- Increasing thresholds for Skilled Workers
The Government intends to increase the skills threshold for Skilled Worker visas to degree level (or the equivalent) or above, with a focus on training UK workers to occupy those lower skilled occupations, which are quicker and easier to upskill to.
The Government says that this will reduce lower skilled migration which has drastically increased over recent years after the skills threshold was lowered in 2020 when the Tier 2 (General) visa was replaced by the Skilled Worker visa.
Salary thresholds will also rise and the Immigration Salary List (which allows discounts from the default salary thresholds) will be abolished.
- Stopping the Health and Care Worker visa from being available to overseas social care workers
The Health and Care Worker visa was introduced in August 2020, which allowed medical professionals to work for the NHS, and later expanded in 2022 to include social care workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupations in social care are generally below degree level and are lower paid, and there have been concerns that the expansion in this visa subcategory has led to abuse and exploitation of individual workers.
Further, the expansion meant that dependants of social care workers could also apply for a visa, as dependants of those on a Health and Care Worker Visa can apply for a Dependant Visa. The Immigration White Paper reports that 'the majority (62%) of all those on a work-related dependant visa between 2021 and 2024 were on the Health and Care Worker route'.
The Government therefore intends to end all future overseas recruitment for care workers and, instead, proposes to shift the focus on domestic workforce and training plans for the health and social care sector, which has historically seen labour shortages due to poor working conditions and pay.
- Raising English language requirements
The Immigration White Paper proposes to introduce more stringent English language requirements for Visa applicants (including dependants).
- Introducing a new Temporary Shortage List
A new Temporary Shortage List is intended to be introduced which will include occupations below degree level (or equivalent) when there is a shortage of domestic labour for those occupations. The List is expected to be truly temporary and will allow those in such occupations to gain time-limited access to the UK's immigration system if specific requirements are met. Such requirements will include having a workforce strategy in place, the sector being key to the industrial strategy or delivering critical infrastructure, the employers being committed to increasing domestic recruitment and where the Migration Advisory Committee has advised the addition of the role on the List is justified.
This means that only a narrow list of critical shortage occupations will be allowed on to the Temporary Shortage List, whilst keeping the focus on training, recruiting and retaining domestic labour.
Restrictions on visa holders bringing their dependants to the UK are also intended to be introduced, when the visa holder has secured their Visa as a result of their occupation being on the Temporary Shortage List.
Increasing the Immigration Skills Charge
Employers who hold a Home office Sponsorship Licence are required to pay the Immigration Skills Charge ("ISC") when they sponsor a migrant, unless an exemption applies. The fee was introduced in 2017 to encourage employers to train and hire UK workers, as opposed to relying on international recruitment.
The fee for the ISC is higher for medium or large employers compared to small or charitable employers and costs an employer up to £1,000 each year per sponsored migrant. The fee has remained the same since its introduction in 2017 despite changes to inflation.
As such, the Government intends to increase the ISC by 32% in line with inflation.
Establishing the Labour Market Evidence Group
The Government also intends to establish a new group, the Labour Market Evidence Group, which will have the purpose of collecting and sharing data on trends relating to the labour market so that the Government can make informed decisions about the state of the labour market and policies.
Further proposals relate to reforming the rules for international students, enforcing stricter measures on illegal working and tighter controls to ensure immigration laws are followed, making changes to asylum policies, expanding the UK Points-Based System to include a focus on contributions made to the UK, and doubling the period for UK settlement to ten years.
The proposals come in response to levels of net migration being at a record high, having almost quadrupled to one million between 2019 and 2023, with an over-reliance on overseas workers, increased pressure on the housing market and public services and concerns that the current immigration system is being abused. Note that net migration was down for 2024 in response to changes to immigration policy made by the previous Government.
The most recent proposals aim to decrease migration further, with a focus on 'training UK workers and changing the pattern and skill mix of the migration the UK allows to ensure a better contribution to the country'.
Reforms to asylum and border security are to be proposed by the Government separately later this year, as part of its plans to bring net migration down.
Comment
Following the introduction of the Employment Rights Bill, which provides for a significant shift in employment law, the Government has now proposed sweeping reforms to immigration law and policies. However, the Immigration White Paper is not law and instead paves the way for future legislation. The proposals need to undergo many processes before becoming law, such as consultations and legislative drafting and debates, during which time there will likely be changes to the intended reforms.
For now, there are no definitive changes to immigration law and policies as a result of the Immigration White Paper and we need to wait to see where the Government next takes the proposals. Although it is certainly clear that the Government intends there to be a shift in focus to training and recruiting domestic workers with a tightening up of rules and controls on migration to the UK. Some sectors will be hit hard if the proposed reforms are enshrined in legislation, particularly the care sector and any employer recruiting from overseas into roles that would not meet the proposed increased skills level.
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