UK to end low-skilled visas, tighten settlement and citizenship rules

The United Kingdom's Immigration White Paper, titled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, outlines wide-ranging changes across work, study, family and asylum routes

The United Kingdom on Monday released its long-awaited Immigration White Paper, setting out a stricter framework to reduce net migration, raise skill thresholds, and curb abuse of the system. The 82-page document, titled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, outlines wide-ranging changes across work, study, family and asylum routes.

 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking ahead of the paper’s release, said, “Today, we publish a white paper on immigration, a strategy absolutely central to my plan for change that will finally take back control of our borders and close the book on a squalid chapter for our politics, our economy and our country.”

 

 

He said the previous government had allowed net migration to spiral out of control despite public promises to reduce it. “Between 2019 and 2023, even as they were going round our country telling people with a straight face that they would get immigration down, net migration quadrupled, until in 2023 it reached nearly 1 million. That's about the population of Birmingham. That’s not control. It’s chaos,” said Starmer.

 

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that net migration rose from 224,000 in the year to June 2019 to 906,000 in the year ending June 2023.

 

Work and skills

 

The white paper proposes raising the skilled worker threshold to degree level (RQF 6) and removing the Immigration Salary List, which currently allows some workers to qualify with lower pay. Access to the points-based system will now be limited to occupations with long-term shortages and clear workforce strategies.

 

“Measures unveiled in the Immigration White Paper will reshape our immigration system towards those who contribute most to economic growth, with higher skills standards for graduates and workers,” the UK Home Office said in a release accessed by *Business Standard*.

 

Employers will be required to boost domestic training efforts. “New requirements on employers to boost domestic training will end the reliance on international recruitment, restoring order to a failed system that saw net migration quadruple between 2019 and 2023,” the Home Office added.

 

A new Labour Market Evidence Group will be created to assess labour needs based on data, rather than relying on migration to fill gaps. Sector bodies across government will be consulted as part of this process.

 

End of overseas care worker visas

 

The government will end new international recruitment for adult social care visas. Existing visa holders already in the UK will be allowed to extend or switch visas domestically until 2028 during a transition period. The policy will remain under review as the government develops a broader social care workforce plan.

 

Changes to student visas

 

The white paper sets out stricter compliance rules for education providers sponsoring international students. Sponsors that are close to failing will be placed under action plans, including recruitment caps.

 

Graduates will now be allowed to stay in the UK for only 18 months after completing their studies, down from two years under current rules.

 

Family routes and deportation powers

 

The government plans to simplify family and private life immigration rules and restrict the use of Article 8 rights to block deportations. A new legal framework will clarify that Parliament decides who may remain in the UK.

 

The Home Office will also revise deportation criteria for foreign national offenders to include all convictions, not just prison sentences. Statutory exceptions will be amended to reflect the seriousness of crimes such as violence against women and girls.

 

Tightening rules for asylum and abuse

 

New visa controls, restrictions, and sanctions will be introduced in countries where the UK sees repeated abuse of its immigration system. Asylum seekers whose country conditions have not changed materially may also face new limits, especially if they claim asylum only after arrival.

 

Sponsors of migrant workers and students who break the rules may face financial penalties or sanctions.

 

Longer pathway to settlement and citizenship

 

The standard qualifying period for settlement will be doubled to 10 years. The points-based approach will be extended to settlement and citizenship applications, with further details to be tabled in Parliament by the end of the year.

 

Language and integration

 

New English language requirements will be introduced across more immigration routes, covering both main applicants and dependants. Applicants may also be assessed for language improvement over time.

 

Access for top global talent

 

While tightening most routes, the government plans to expand access for highly skilled individuals. This includes:

 

< Increasing placements under the research interns scheme

< Easing access to the Global Talent visa

< Reviewing the Innovator Founder and High Potential Individual visas

 

Faster entry will be considered for roles in strategic sectors such as science and technology.

 

Next steps

 

Starmer said the white paper marks a decisive break from the system inherited from the previous government. “This plan means migration will fall,” he said, adding that the notion that high migration guarantees high growth had failed to deliver.

 

“You can’t simply pull up a drawbridge... but we do have to ask why parts of our economy seem almost addicted to importing cheap labour rather than investing in the skills of people who are here and want a good job,” said Starmer.

 

Further reforms to asylum and border control are expected later this summer, in line with the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill now moving through Parliament.