Visa Rules: UK Announces Measures to Curb Net Migration, Ban Bringing Families

U.K. Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has unveiled a package of visa measures aimed at curbing migration.

The new five-point plan to cut immigration has been announced by the government, which includes banning care workers from bringing over their families and raising the minimum salary for a skilled worker visa after record net migration in 202 piled pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to act.

Annual net migration to the UK hit a record of 745,000 last year and has stayed at high levels since, data showed last month.

Interior Minister James Cleverly said on Monday the government would raise the minimum salary threshold for foreign skilled workers to 38,700 pounds ($48,800), from its current level of 26,200 pounds ($33,000), reform the list of jobs where exceptions are made due to shortages, and toughen rules on whether workers can bring their families.

“Migration to this country is far too high and needs to come down, and today we are taking more robust action than any other government before,” Cleverly told lawmakers. This package of measures will take place from next spring.”

It is also reported that as part of measures aimed at curbing migration, Overseas care workers will not be able to bring family dependants, to end the “abuse of the health and care visa”. Care firms that want to sponsor people for visa applications will need to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission. A dependant is defined by the government as a husband or wife, civil partner or unmarried partner, and children under 18.

Also, the government wants to “scrap cut-price shortage labour from overseas” by reforming the way people working in short-staffed sectors can apply to come to the UK. This will include axing the 20% discount applied to the minimum salary for people looking for a visa for shortage occupations. The types of jobs on the list will also be reviewed and reduced.