What are the Government’s changes to the UK’s immigration system?

The Prime Minister has announced a series of changes in a White Paper in an attempt to overhaul the UK’s immigration system and address many of its problems.

In this article, immigration lawyer Sharmila Mehta and paralegal Ami Koya explain the issues with the current system and how the Government plans to fix them.

Problems with the current immigration system

In 2022, net immigration was at an all-time high – totalling 764,000. The Conservative Government, then in power, put in place various measures to slash these figures in 2023. These were called “migration cap” policies and it was hoped they would decrease migration to the UK and get the most skilled individuals coming to the UK on high salaries.

These measures included stopping international students from bringing dependants to the UK, increasing the minimum threshold salary for skilled workers to £38,700 p.a., and the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation for certain nationalities.

Although migration was slashed in 2023 to 685,000, illegal immigration remained a real problem and by June 2024, net migration had increased to 728,000. Illegal immigration remained, consisting of people travelling to the UK on boats, seeking to stay in the UK without permission.

The Government’s solution

In response to the growing problem and public concern over increased migration numbers,  Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans various changes to the Immigration Rules, to include:

• The standard qualifying period for UK permanent residency to increase from 5 years to10 years.
• Removing the ability of care workers to come to the UK, instead, opting for care workers to be taken from a pool of individuals inside the UK.
• Increasing the number of people arriving on very high talent routes – the Government is looking to increase numbers of research interns and other similar roles in the UK.
• Fast-track settlement to be established for nurses, engineers and others to contribute to the UK’s growth.
• Reduction in the ability for graduates to remain in the UK after their studies to a period of 18 months.
• The introduction of the English language requirements for adult dependants.
• The change in language requirements for Skilled Workers to go up from Level B1 to B2.
• A refresh of the Life in the UK test and how it operates will take place.

The effects of these changes

The Government hopes to reduce overall migration and fix the “broken system”. In relation to the bullet points above, it is hoped that the following is achieved:

• By making individuals wait for ten years to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, fewer people will naturalise and therefore stay in the UK. The UK may have more short-term stayers rather than permanent residents.
• By removing the care worker category, net migration will be reduced by 50,000.
• By increasing the number of people arriving on high talent routes, gaps in skills within the UK can be filled and economic aims can be furthered.
• By increasing English language requirements across categories, adult dependants may find it easier to land a UK job and as their job prospects increase, the UK economy will benefit.

The Government’s objective with the White Paper on this subject is the end of mass migration. The overall aim of the new reforms is to avoid low-skilled workers coming to the UK and instead to attract individuals who have high level skills and expertise that the economy needs.

If you have questions or concerns about the changes to immigration laws, please contact immigration lawyer Sharmila Mehta and paralegal Ami Koya.