UK Immigration: Hot topics of debate in the run-up to election 2024
New UK immigration rules for student visa holders, skilled workers, graduate visa route, family dependants, care workers and shortage occupation list.
In 2024, immigration will be one of the main issues determining the upcoming UK general election, which is expected to be called by the end of the year. Last year, net migration reached a record total of 745,000 which many British people feel is too high. Both the main political parties, the Conservatives and Labour, are now promising measures to stop illegal immigration and to reduce the number of legal migrants who arrive in Britain.
To placate voters who are concerned about the level of immigration, the ruling Conservatives are rushing to introduce restrictions as the party needs to show results before voters go to the polls. Several changes have already been announced, some of which came into force on January 1. Other measures are being considered, the details of which will be finalized later in the year.
Measures being introduced or being discussed:
Skilled Worker visa minimum salary threshold
In the year ending September 2023, the UK issued 208,000 Skilled Worker visas, roughly half of which went to health and care sector workers. To meet the criteria to qualify for a general Skilled Worker visa most applicants must be paid a minimum of £26,200 a year (the threshold does not apply to health and care workers).
In spring this year that figure is set to increase to £38,700, which is higher than the average salary for full-time employees.
In reality, the new threshold will only affect around 30 percent of Skilled Worker visa applicants as it does not apply to care workers and senior care workers while workers in health or teaching roles have salaries set using nationally agreed pay scales. Those affected will primarily be in the private sector working in roles that already pay below the threshold.
Minimum salary requirement for spouse visas
The £38,700 figure was also set to apply to British citizens who wanted to bring foreign family members to the UK, most commonly as partners. Currently, the resident must earn at least £18,600 per annum to support their spouse.
The significant hike caused a backlash among couples in international relationships and a fear that thousands of couples would rush to marry before the new rate came into effect. In December the UK government did a partial U-turn and reduced the threshold to £29,000. It will, however, rise incrementally to £38,700. The first minimum income increase will come into effect in spring 2024; and rise to around £34,500 at an unspecified time but likely later in 2024, and finally to around £38,700 in early 2025.
Shortage Occupation List
The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) identifies jobs in which personnel shortages persist and allows migrants to take up those jobs earning lower wages than the general skilled worker salary threshold. A person applying for a job included on the SOL will benefit from reduced visa application fees while the employer benefits by being able to pay less in salary – on average around 20% less.
In October 2023, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), an independent body that advises the British government, recommended scrapping the SOL for these reasons. It proposed replacing the SOL with the new Immigration Salary List with a much-reduced number of occupations on it.
No firm decisions have been made but the Government has committed to changes to the shortage occupation list ‘to significantly reduce the number of jobs where it will be possible to sponsor overseas workers below the baseline minimum salary’. These changes will happen no earlier than April 2024.
Family dependents of Health and Social Care visa holders
In the year to September 2023 Britain issued visas to 101,000 care workers and senior care workers, and to 120,00 dependants accompanying them, about a quarter of whom were in work.
In December 2023 British Home Secretary James Cleverly announced that care workers would no longer be able to bring dependents with them. Consequently, from spring 2024, people arriving in the UK to work as social care workers are no longer permitted to bring children or a partner with them.
Graduate visa route
On 1 July 2021, the UK Government launched the Graduate visa route to allow international students on a Student visa to remain living and working in the UK after they graduate. The visa, designed to encourage ‘the brightest and best’ international students and their dependents to stay in the UK, allowed the holder flexibility as they could work in any role without sponsorship or a salary threshold.
MAC recommended against the introduction warning that it would lead to an increase in low-wage migration and universities ‘marketing themselves on post-study employment potential rather than educational quality’.
The government has asked MAC to review the Graduate Visa ‘to ensure it works in the best interests of the UK and to take steps to prevent abuse’. The review will begin this month and may run until late 2024.
Dependents of Student visa holders
Changes introduced on January 1 have barred most foreign students from bringing family members to the UK when they come to study. The restriction was announced in May last year and is expected to reduce overall migration by around 140,000. In the year to September, 152,980 visas were issued to foreign students’ relatives, compared with 14,839 in the year ending September 2019. From January, only foreign students on postgraduate research courses and government-funded scholarships will be able to bring family members with them.