The British government is mulling over introducing major changes to visa and immigration laws, furthering its efforts to reduce the number of migrant workers who can live and work in the UK.
The proposed changes, if implemented, will make it extremely difficult for the migrants, including Indian nationals, who dream of working and getting permanent residency in the United Kingdom, to do so.
In 2024, the UK issued 210,098 work visas to main applicants across all nationalities, a decrease of 37% from 2023. While government data for 2024 was not available, Indians have historically been the top recipients of the UK work visas.
For instance, in the year ending June 2024, Indian nationals were the most common nationality for work-related immigration, with 116,000 individuals moving to the UK for work purposes.
In 2023, as many as 127,000 Indian nationals migrated to the UK for work-related reasons. Indians received 18,107 visas in the year ending September 2023, a decrease of 11% from 2022.
The Indians have mostly got work visas in recent years in the healthcare, information technology, engineering, education, hospitality and catering, and skilled trade sectors.
According to the UK government, a complete revamp of the “failed experiment" to curb immigration is necessary to slash the number of legal immigrants into the country.
The Keir Starmer administration made the announcement on May 11 ahead of the presentation of the government’s Immigration White Paper in Parliament on Monday, AFP reported.
The government aims to reduce net migration, which stood at 728,000 in the 12 months leading up to June 2024.
PM Starmer, who is facing growing public concern and the rising popularity of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, said that the new rules, when out, will strengthen the government’s control over the immigration system, which will ensure that only those who contribute meaningfully to the UK would be given permission to stay in the country.
Starmer is likely to announce that the immigrants should commit to “learning our language", The Guardian reported. He intends to fix the “broken system" that lets employers “bring in lower-paid workers".
Care Workers Visas To be Stopped: The recruitment of overseas care workers will be stopped. According to Interior Minister Yvette Cooper, who will table the White Paper in Parliament, the government is keen on changing the rules to make sure that foreign care workers do not get recruited. The UK employers will have to offer jobs to the local population or extend the visas of care workers who are currently living in the country.
“Care companies should be recruiting from those workers. They can also extend existing visas. They could recruit as well from people who are on other visas, who are already here. But we do think it’s time to end that care worker recruitment from abroad," Cooper told the BBC.
Skilled Workers Visas Only For Graduate-Level Jobs: According to the proposed UK visa laws, Skilled Worker Visas will be issued only for graduate-level jobs. Downing Street said that high-skilled people “who play by the rules and contribute to the economy" in roles such as doctors, nurses, engineers, and AI leaders, will be given faster approval to come to the UK.
Under the proposed changes, Skilled Worker Visa applicants will need to have at least a university degree. This aims to make sure that people moving to the UK for work are properly qualified.
English Language Rules To Be Changed: According to AFP, the English language rules will also be strengthened, requiring all adult dependents to show a basic level of understanding of the language. All adult dependents of visa holders will need to demonstrate a basic level of English skills upon arrival in the UK. They will have to pass an A1-level English test, which includes understanding simple phrases and answering basic questions like where they live or work.
When workers or their families apply to extend their visas, dependants will need to pass a higher-level A2 English test.
PR Rules In UK To Be Changed: The foreign workers who want to get the right to settle in the UK, similar to Permanent Residency (PR), will have to live in the country for 10 years before being eligible for citizenship. This rule currently mandates them to reside in the country for five years.
The indefinite leave to remain will become extremely hard to get under the new rules.
