UK Immigration Minister Seema Malhotra tabled the first tranche of UK Home Office measures on tightening work visa rules as laid out in the ‘Immigration White Paper’ in the House of Commons this week.
The new rules see skills and salary thresholds rise, overseas recruitment for care workers end, and more than 100 occupations no longer granted access to the country’s immigration system.
In her written parliamentary statement, Malhotra said: “Salary requirements for work visas are being raised in line with the latest Office for National Statistics data, ahead of an upcoming thorough review of salary requirements (including discounts) by the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).
“Skilled Worker entry clearance applications for care workers and senior care workers are being closed, while maintaining in-country switching applications for a transition period until 22 July 2028.”
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The changes will go through the Parliament clearance process to come into effect as detailed in the Statement of Changes, from July 22.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We are delivering a complete reset of our immigration system to restore proper control and order, after the previous government allowed net migration to quadruple in four years.
“These new rules mean stronger controls to bring migration down, to restore order to the immigration system and to ensure we focus on investing in skills and training here in the UK.”
The package of measures includes:
· raising the skills threshold for Skilled Worker visas, removing 111 eligible occupations
· closing the social care worker visa route to overseas recruitment in response to widespread abuse and exploitation
· only allowing time-limited access below degree level through a targeted immigration salary list and temporary shortage list, for critical roles only, with strict requirements for sectors to grow domestic skills
· commissioning the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to conduct a review of the temporary shortage list including occupations, salaries and benefits.
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Under the changes, workers in occupations on the temporary shortage list will no longer be able to bring dependants and will not be permitted salary and visa fee discounts. The occupations included on the List are time-limited until the end of 2026 and will only remain beyond that date if the independent MAC recommend it, the Home Office said.