UK's Starmer, under pressure from Farage, tightens migration rules
Published : May 12, 2025 - KOREAN HERALD
LONDON (Reuters) -- Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new salvo of measures to toughen up Britain's migration system on Sunday, saying many immigrants would have to wait longer before getting the status they need to claim welfare.
Starmer's government -- which was due to publish plans for new legislation to reduce immigration on Monday -- is under pressure to counter the rise in popularity of Nigel Farage's right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party.
Over the weekend, Interior Minister Yvette Cooper announced plans to restrict skilled worker visas to graduate-level applicants, prevent care sector firms from recruiting abroad and require businesses to increase training for local workers.
"Every area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened up so we have more control," Starmer said in a statement. "Enforcement will be tougher than ever and migration numbers will fall." Under the changes, automatic settlement and citizenship for people who move to Britain will apply after 10 years, up from five years now, although highly skilled workers -- such as nurses, doctors, engineers and AI experts -- would be fast-tracked.
Migrants who are in the UK on visas are typically ineligible for welfare benefits and social housing.
The government also said it plans to raise English language requirements to include all adult dependents who will have to show a basic understanding of English. It said the change would help integration and reduce the risks of exploitation.
"This is a clean break from the past and will ensure settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right," Starmer said.
"And when people come to our country, they should also commit to integration and to learning our language," he said.
The number of European Union migrants to Britain fell sharply after Brexit but new visa rules, a rise in people arriving from Ukraine and Hong Kong and higher net numbers of foreign students led to an overall surge in recent years.
Net migration -- the number of people coming to Britain minus the number leaving -- hit a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023, up from 184,000 who arrived in the same period during 2019, when Britain was still in the EU.
Employers' groups are worried that tightening the rules on foreign workers will make it harder for companies to fill vacancies.
"This major intervention in the labour market will leave many employers fearful that in tackling concerns about immigration, government goes after the wrong target," Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, said.
Being open to skilled workers was essential for Britain "but so is a controlled, affordable and responsive immigration system that keeps investment flowing to the UK," Carberry
Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce an overhaul of the immigration system to ensure "settlement in this country is a privilege" and "not a right" as Immigration White Paper is unveiled
Charlotte Fisher
11 May 2025
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will pledge that “every area” of the immigration system will be “tightened up” as he unveils massive new reforms on Monday. The changes largely affect visa and citizenship requirements in a bid to "ensure settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right."
Migrants will be told they need to spend a decade in the UK before they can apply for citizenship and English language requirements will be increased for all routes into the UK, as ministers look to bring down net migration which reached 728,000 last year.
Article continues below
The Prime Minister will say that “enforcement will be tougher than ever and migration numbers will fall” as a result of the policies in the Immigration White Paper, set to be unveiled on Monday, May 12.
It comes after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Sunday that the care worker visa would be closed for overseas recruitment. The skilled visa threshold will also be raised to require a graduate qualification under the white paper.
“Every area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened up so we have more control,” the Prime Minister is expected to say on Monday.
“Enforcement will be tougher than ever and migration numbers will fall.”
Officials hope this will help people integrate and be able to find employment. However despite the changes, ministers will not be putting a target figure on net migration numbers.
Ms Cooper told Sky News that doing so left previous governments with “broken promises”.
“We’re not going to take that really failed approach, because I think what we need to do is rebuild credibility and trust in the whole system,” she added.
Migrants must ‘learn our language’ under Starmer’s immigration crackdown
Migrants and their dependents will be required to show a greater understanding of English under the reforms which the Prime Minister says will make settlement in the UK a privilege to be earnt
Keir Starmer has pledged that immigrants will be made to “commit to integration” and improve their standard of English if they want to settle in the UK, as part of Labour’s new immigration crackdown.
Under the changes, due to be outlined in a white paper on Monday, immigrants will have to wait up to 10 years before they can apply for residency unless they can prove a “lasting contribution” to the British economy.
Care worker visas are set to be halted altogether, and care homes will instead be encouraged to train and hire people already in the UK.
Migrants arriving on skilled worker visas face tighter rules and will need to have a graduate qualification or a higher salary to be eligible.
Starmer will use a speech on Monday ahead of the white paper’s launch to promise that these tough new reforms will ensure the immigration system is “controlled, selective and fair”.
“This is a clean break from the past and will ensure settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right,” he is expected to say.
“And when people come to our country, they should also commit to integration and to learning our language.”
Labour’s plan to cut immigration
Quicker deportation of foreign criminals: The Home Office will be given new powers to streamline the deportation of foreign criminals. Ministers will now be notified of all convictions involving a foreign national in the UK, rather than only those with a custodial sentence of over one year. Foreign nationals with criminal records overseas may also face removal. Short-term visa holders can now have their visas cancelled and be blocked from future applications.
Restrictions on care worker visas: The care worker visa route for overseas recruitment will be closed. Employers will be expected to hire from within the UK, either from among British citizens or foreign workers who already have a visa.
Tighter rules for skilled worker visas: Eligibility for skilled worker visas will now require a graduate-level qualification or a higher salary threshold. Access to lower-skilled roles will be restricted and they will only available in sectors listed as critical to the UK’s industrial strategy. A new Labour Market Evidence Group will assess which sectors have shortages that require overseas workers.
Training British workers: Employers in high-migration sectors will have to invest in UK-based training before recruiting from abroad. Sectors set to be targeted include IT, telecommunications, and engineering, which are deemed to recruit from abroad disproportionately.
Crackdown on visa overstayers: The Government will restrict visas for nationalities with higher overstay or asylum rates. Financial documents will be scrutinised more closely, and access to taxpayer-funded accommodation will be limited.
Longer permanent residence wait: The minimum residence period for indefinite leave to remain will be extended from five to ten years. Fast-track routes will be limited to high-skilled individuals. Those with limited UK ties or long absences may face additional checks before securing permanent status or applying for citizenship.
English language tests: Work visa applicants must now meet an English standard equivalent to an A-level. The requirement also applies to adult dependents. The change raises the threshold from the current GCSE-equivalent level. Applicants must show they can write detailed texts and communicate fluently on complex topics.
The Conservatives, however, have warned that the reforms are a “white flag” and that Labour has “failed” to go far enough to tackle the issue of rising migration.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of “boasting about returns built entirely on the back of Conservative groundwork” and urged the Government to go further to control migrant numbers.
“If Labour were serious about immigration, they’d back our binding immigration cap and back our plan to repeal the entire Human Rights Act from immigration matters. But they have got no grip, no guts, and no plan,” he said.
Under the plans, a fast-track route will remain for “high-skilled, high-contributing individuals”, such as NHS staff, engineers, and AI specialists, allowing them to bypass the 10-year wait.
Language requirements will also be raised across all visa routes, with adult dependents required to “demonstrate a basic understanding of English” for the first time.
The Home Office said these new, stricter rules would help migrants “integrate into their local community, find employment and [reduce] the risk of exploitation and abuse”.
Currently, migrants are only required to be able to read and speak English at a level equivalent to a GCSE qualification, but the Government wants to require all visa applicants to demonstrate that they can speak English to A-level standard in the future.
Employers will be targeted as part of the immigration crackdown. Companies will now be expected to prove they are investing in UK workers before they can sponsor visas for overseas staff.
Announcing this change on Sunday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that under the Conservative government “employers were given much greater freedom to recruit from abroad while action on training fell”.
She added: “Overseas recruitment soared at the same time as big increases in the number of people not working or in education here in the UK.
“The last government lost control of the immigration system, and there was no proper plan to tackle skills shortages here at home. This has undermined public confidence, distorted our labour market, and been really damaging for both our immigration system and our economy.”
Cooper also announced that the white paper would include measures to speed up the deportation of foreign criminals.
Currently, the Home Office is only informed that a foreign national has been convicted of crimes if they also receive a prison sentence, and deportations usually only occur if that sentence is for more than a year.
The changes will ensure that the Home Office is informed about all convicted foreign nationals, regardless of whether they receive a prison sentence.
New powers will be set up allowing the Government to more easily deport recent immigrants who have committed crimes in other countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment