The British government has unveiled new immigration restrictions that are expected to reduce immigration by 300,000 people a year. The decision is linked to the sharp increase in immigration and the failure of the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
On Monday evening, in his presentation before the House of Commons of the British Parliament, British Home Secretary James Cleverly revealed what changes will be made to the UK’s immigration policy in the near future.
The biggest change is immigration rules for skilled workers. While until now you needed to earn at least £26,200 in a new British job to get a skilled worker visa, in future the minimum wage for a skilled worker will be £38,700.
The income limit for applying for a family visa will also rise to £38,700.
The number of family members that an otherwise immigrant person can bring into the country is also limited. For example, healthcare workers are prohibited from bringing family members into the country.
Another novelty concerns the so-called “list of occupations with labor shortage”. Until now, foreigners could be hired for jobs in the listed professions, paying them up to 20% less than British workers. In October, the council, which advises the government on immigration issues, recommended abolishing the program altogether because it lowers wages and exposes foreign workers to the risk of exploitation.
The government has taken the council’s proposal into consideration and will rescind this salary exception. In the future, the Council will decide separately on the inclusion of each specialty in the list.
Before the new rules were announced, it was leaked that the Government would launch a debate on the graduate exemption, which allows graduates to live in the UK for two or three years after obtaining their degree with no other legal basis.
Vivienne Stern, of Universities UK, has already condemned plans to abolish the scheme.
“International students contribute £40 billion to the UK economy and are one of the UK’s biggest exports,” Stern said.
However, Cleverly did not reveal any clear new changes for students beyond banning students from bringing dependents into the country.
He cleverly promised that the new measures would reduce immigration by 300,000 people a year.
The British government’s decision is the result of public pressure to limit immigration. Net immigration to the UK rose to 745,000 last year, around three times the pre-Brexit figure. Furthermore, in November, the UK Supreme Court declared the government’s attempt to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and to process their claims unlawful.
According to a poll by the research firm YouGov, 41% of voters believe that immigration is one of the country’s three biggest problems. Only the economy and healthcare are more important to voters than immigration.
2023-12-04 17:17:00
the-british-government-has-announced-new-measures-to-limit-foreign-country-immigration