UK rules for migrants: Tougher English, no jobs for care role, & more

The UK government will unveil new visa rules today, that will raise language requirements, limit low-skilled migration, and make it harder for foreign nationals to settle in Britain. The changes come as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to respond to voter frustration over high immigration levels and rising support for the Reform UK party.

 

English test, no automatic settlement

 

Under the new proposals, all migrants will need to meet stricter English language requirements, including adult dependants. The government also plans to remove the right to automatically settle after five years of residence. Instead, only those who make a “real and lasting contribution to the economy and society” will be allowed to stay long term.

 

 

“When people come to our country, they should also commit to integration and to learning our language,” said Starmer in a statement released Sunday evening. “Every area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened up so we have more control.”

 

The Immigration White Paper — to be presented in Parliament by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper — comes in the wake of net migration figures nearing one million in the year ending June 2023. The number stood at 728,000 in the year to June 2024, down from a record 906,000, but still well above the 200,000 to 300,000 range seen through much of the 2010s.

 

Skilled routes to remain open

 

Despite the crackdown, professionals such as nurses, doctors, engineers and AI specialists will continue to have access to fast-track work routes. Cooper said the new system will “properly link immigration to skills and training here in the UK,” and include a temporary shortage list for sectors like construction.

 

Other measures in the new white paper will include are:

 

< No more overseas recruitment for care roles; current workers can stay and switch sponsors

< 50,000 fewer low-skilled visas to be issued in 2026

< A new requirement for employers to invest in training British workers

< Settlement to be treated as a privilege, not a right

< Commitment to increase deportations of foreign criminals

 

Labour under pressure after local poll setback

 

Labour’s move comes after the party lost nearly two-thirds of the seats it was defending in the May local elections. Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, made substantial gains and took control of several councils — a first for the party since its formation in 2018.

 

While these immigration plans have been in development for several months, the electoral results are understood to have sped up the rollout.

 

Starmer criticised the previous Conservative government for what he called a collapse of border control. “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 said.

 

UK Home Office data show that as of May 11, more than 11,500 people had crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year, already exceeding the record 10,448 recorded by this point in 2024. The warm weather in March and April is believed to have contributed to the increase.

 

No new immigration target yet

 

Cooper has not set a new immigration target, saying such goals had “been devalued by failed Tory promises.” But she confirmed international students would retain a route to work after graduation.

 

“We are very clear we need to bring net migration substantially down,” Cooper told Sky News. “It is currently falling, but we need to go much further. That’s what the plan is about. It’s about restoring control and order.”