The Home Secretary, James Cleverly has announced what he described as a “five-point plan” to reduce immigration.
What are the five changes?
•Social care workers will not be allowed to bring dependants (that is, partners and children) on their visa.
•The minimum salary to be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa will increase, with the baseline minimum rising from £26,200 to £38,700 (but not for the Health and Care Worker visa, which includes social care, or for education workers on national pay scales).
•Changes to the shortage occupation list to reduce the number of jobs where it will be possible to sponsor someone for a Skilled Worker visa on less than the usual minimum salary (which is the main purpose of the list).
•The minimum income normally required to sponsor someone for a spouse/partner visa will rise in stages from £18,600 per year to £29,000 and ultimately around £38,700.
•A review of the Graduate visa, a two-year unsponsored work permit for overseas graduates of British universities.
When will the changes happen?
•Banning newly arriving care workers from bringing immediate family will happen on 11 March 2024.
•The Skilled Worker minimum salary increases will happen on 4 April 2024.
•Initial changes to the shortage occupation list will also happen in April 2024 (very likely 4 April); the Migration Advisory Committee is working on its recommendation for the new list.
•The spouse/partner visa minimum income will first increase to £29,000 on 11 April 2024; to around £34,500 at an unspecified time later in 2024; and finally to around £38,700 “by early 2025”.
•The Home Office was supposed to commission the Migration Advisory Committee to begin work on the Graduate visa review in January 2024, although it had not yet done so at time of writing. The committee is expected to report in late 2024.
