The UK government has recently unveiled a strategy to reduce migration levels. This comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces growing pressure to address high net migration figures. The latest proposal involves increasing the minimum salary requirement for skilled overseas workers and prohibiting care workers from bringing dependents to the UK. The overarching objective of these measures is to cut legal migration by 300,000.
The presented strategy has five key points. Besides raising the salary threshold for skilled international workers from £26,200 to £38,700, and imposing restrictions on care workers’ dependents, the plan includes ending the 20% salary discount for shortage occupations. Moreover, there will be an increased charge for foreign workers availing the services of the NHS. The fifth point entails requesting the Migration Advisory Committee to review the graduate visa route.
All these measures follow a record year for migration in 2022, with figures reaching 745,000. Additionally, Sunak’s government faced defeats over its Rwanda deportation policy. Sunak has been vocal in the past about excessive immigration and has committed to ‘taking radical action to bring it down’.
These changes, however, have not been welcomed across the board. Significant criticism comes from unions, migrant rights charities, and opposition politicians. The Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, characterized the plan as a ‘recognition of years of Tory failure on economy and immigration’. Additionally, one of the UK’s largest trade unions, Unison, warns that this initiative may cause migrant care workers to exit, risking a total collapse of the country’s care system.
Further details on the UK government’s strategy can be found on JURIST – News.