New visa wage thresholds for foreign workers to come in ‘within weeks’
New visa wage thresholds for foreign workers coming to the UK are set to be enforced “within weeks”, the Home Office has confirmed.
Tighter restrictions on immigration will be introduced from March as the government aims to cut the number of people eligible to legally move to Britain to work.
Home secretary James Cleverly said: “I’ve been clear that migration is too high and we must get back to sustainable levels. The British people want to see action, not words.”
Changes will be brought in gradually, starting from March 11, when foreign care workers will be stopped from bringing dependents to the UK with them. Care providers will also have to register sponsored migrant workers with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) from this date.
From March 14, new immigration rules will see the 20 per cent ‘going rate’ discount for shortage occupation list positions eliminated, while minimum salary requirements for skilled worker visa recipients will rise from £26,200 to £38,700, from April 4.
And from April 11, the family visa minimum income threshold will go up to £29,000, ahead of further rises. It is set to rise to £38,700 by early 2025, the Home Office said.
It comes as new Office for National Statistics (ONS) projections revealed immigration is set to boost the UK’s population to 73.7m by 2036, a rise of almost 10 per cent, or 6.6m.
The Prime Minister has previously pledged to “do what is necessary” to bring net migration down as he sought to blame the “very large numbers” on his predecessors.
Cleverly vowed the overseas care workers dependants ban and hiked salary thresholds would deliver the “biggest ever reduction” in net migration.
Legal migration minister Tom Pursglove insisted the measures would make a “tangible difference” to migration and help the UK get to a “more sustainable place”.
He told the PA news agency the Home Office was “very confident” there would be a “meaningful reduction in net migration” as a result of changes to visa rules.
But the government’s proposed reforms have also been criticised for making it harder for Brits earning under the national average to bring over foreign spouses.
Unison’s Gavin Edwards said: “Care companies couldn’t function without migrant care workers. Ministers’ reckless changes to immigration policy spell disaster for social care.”
Labour was contacted for comment.