UK proposes sweeping immigration cuts as net migration halves

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — The U.K. government has proposed one of the biggest overhauls of immigration policy since the country left the EU, which would tighten access for foreign workers, students and family members.

This is despite recent data from the Office of National Statistics that reported net migration to the U.K. dropped to 431,000 in 2024 — nearly half the number recorded the previous year and the largest 12-month reduction on record.

The figures reflect reduced immigration from non-EU countries, especially on work and study visas, and an uptick in those leaving the U.K.

Since taking power in mid-2024, the Labour government has continued and expanded many of the immigration restrictions introduced by the previous Conservative government, such as increasing income requirements and limiting dependents.

Like in many Western countries, immigration has become a defining political issue in the U.K., feeding into anxieties around pressures on housing and public services amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Responding to the rise of right-wing populism, the white paper marks a calculated move by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to blunt challenges from the right and harden his position on immigration.

Defending his government’s plans in a speech, Starmer said that the U.K. risks becoming an “island of strangers” without new policies. Some politicians, including the independent Zarah Sultana, claimed his words echoed the notorious “rivers of blood” speech given by Enoch Powel in 1968.

The Conservative politician, who was criticizing the rise in immigration from former British colonies, spoke of a future where the white population “found themselves made strangers in their own country.”

Care sector transformation

Among the proposals include scrapping the Immigration Salary List, reducing the number of occupations eligible for sponsorship by around 180 and ending exemptions that allowed social care providers to recruit workers from abroad.

Migrant workers currently make up 32% of care worker staff in England, while one in five National Health Service staff are non-British, including 35% of doctors and 28% of nurses.

The government plans to train homegrown workers into the health care sector.

Universities would face stricter rules to maintain visa-sponsoring powers, with the length of the post-study graduate visa being cut from two years to 18 months.

Stricter language rules will be put in place for partners of people moving to the U.K. “to be able to effectively integrate into local communities.”

For some individuals, the time it takes to gain permanent residency will be extended from five years to 10 years, with shorter pathways available for others based on criteria yet to be decided.

Uncertainty breeds anxiety

For individuals and families caught in the uncertainty, the proposed changes are worrying.

“The families we work with continue to be worried and impacted by the ongoing uncertainty in immigration policy, something that was a hallmark of the previous Conservative administration and unfortunately has continued with this Labour government,” said Matteo Besana, Advocacy and Campaigns Manager at Reunite Families UK.

Families are particularly concerned that the route to settlement for partners of non-British sponsors will be longer than the current five years, and “all the financial and mental health costs associated with a longer route to settlement,” Besana said.

Currently, a five-year route to settlement for a partner costs around $15,000 in visa fees and immigration health surcharges, with each child requiring separate visas.

These pressures contribute to “the burden felt by bi-national couples and families who feel that they are punished just for having fallen in love with somebody born abroad,” Besana added, “and that in effect, having a partner born abroad is a privilege that less than half of Britons can afford.”

Navaro, originally from the Philippines and currently two years away from applying for British citizenship, says the pressure is growing.

“I believe the U.K.’s immigration policies create unnecessary hurdles for many couples trying to be together, especially those with children,” she said. “It’s disheartening to see the financial burdens placed on families, from visa costs to additional fees.”

Visa holders who are employed pay twice for health care, once through the health surcharge and again through income tax.

“When I hear politicians proposing measures that would further complicate family reunification,” Navaro added, “I can’t help but feel concerned. Many couples are forced to navigate these obstacles and seek alternative solutions for living together.”

One online petition calling for the government to maintain the five-year route has more than 60,000 signatures.

Public services at risk

The government believes that the changes would “restore control and order” over the immigration system, so that “no industry is allowed to rely solely on immigration to fill skills shortages.”

Some experts warn the policy could backfire.

“Migrants play a key role in many key sectors of the U.K. economy as well as its public services, including health care,” said Marketa Dolezalova, an expert in labor migration at the University of Leeds.

“We have already seen the negative impacts on employers who have struggled to fill vacancies,” Dolezalova said. “While successive governments have talked about filling workforce gaps with local workers, many employers that we spoke to told us that there just are not enough local people interested or available to do the jobs that are needed.”

For Dolezalova, reducing migration is likely to “put at risk the viability of key public services” already struggling with shortages.

“While there was some relaxation of the entry routes under the previous government,” such as in health and social care, Dolezalova explained, “a lack of oversight of compliance by employers who recruited from abroad has led to both the increase in migration and increase in reports of exploitation of migrants.”

With no fixed date for the proposals to come into force — and much to be clarified — Besana said that it is “disrespectful of the people who have chosen to build their life” in the U.K., “many of which were praised during the pandemic as key workers.”

People need to be allowed to flourish, he added, “rather than be used as cash machines for the depleted government’s coffers.”

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