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What's likely to be in Labour's immigration crackdown? Labour's immigration plans at a glance
(1 day later)
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is preparing to unveil fresh plans to reduce UK net migration, which last year stood at 728,000. Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled Labour's long-awaited plans to cut levels of immigration into the UK.
Successive governments have battled largely in vain to reduce net migration, which is the number of people coming to the UK minus the number leaving. The prime minister said the white paper, setting out proposals for future laws, would make the system "controlled, selective and fair".
In June 2023, the figures hit a record 906,000. Here is a summary of the key measures.
The Home Office has not yet officially confirmed what will be in its immigration White Paper, due early next week. Visas tightened - for some
But here is what we think it might include. The qualification requirements to apply for a skilled worker visa will go back up, reversing changes made under Boris Johnson's government.
Skills investment It will mean new applicants will generally need a degree-level qualification, rather than the equivalent of A-level, which ministers say will make around 180 job roles ineligible for the visa route.
Employers will have to show they are investing in UK skills before they will be allowed to bring in workers from overseas, the White Paper is expected to say. Lower qualification requirements will remain for sectors facing long-term shortages, or those considered key to the government's industrial strategy.
This has long been promised by Labour, with the IT and telecommunications sectors likely to be targeted. But these roles will be linked to having plans in place to improve workforce training, based on analysis from government migration advisers.
Yvette Cooper last year promised to strengthen the Migration Advisory Committee so it can "highlight key sectors where labour market failures mean there is over-reliance on international recruitment". Visas loosened - for others
Visa restrictions At the same time, the government says it wants to expand eligibility for the existing "high potential individual" visa, by doubling the number of universities from which applicants can hold a qualifying degree.
Visa applications from nationalities judged most likely to overstay and claim asylum in the UK are likely to be restricted under the plans. Places on a scheme for research interns will also increase, and ministers say they want to make it easier for "top scientific and design talent" to come to the UK using the global talent visa.
In practice, this will mean tougher screening and more probing from officials for people from countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka who want to come to the UK to study or work. Permanent residency
These three countries were named by the Home Office in March as the biggest source of asylum seekers who had originally entered the UK on a visa. Immigrants will typically have to live in the UK for 10 years before they can apply for the right to stay indefinitely – double the current time period of five years.
Permanent residence There will be a faster route for "high-skilled, high-contributing" people with certain jobs - details for which will be set out after a consultation.
Migrants already living in the UK are expected to have to wait longer before they can apply for permanent residency, under the proposals. The five-year period will also remain for foreign dependants of British citizens.
At the moment, most people can apply for indefinite leave to remain if they have lived and worked in the UK for five years. Social care
This period could be extended to as long as 10 years for some migrants, according to reports. A dedicated visa for social care providers that want to recruit from abroad, introduced after Brexit, will be abolished, with ministers blaming it for "exploitation and abuse" in the sector.
Visa extensions will be permitted until 2028, whilst those who already have working rights will be able to switch sponsor during the term of their visa.
Students
Overseas graduates will only be able to stay to the UK for 18 months after their studies, down from two years currently.
Ministers will also explore introducing a 6% tax on income from international student income, to be "reinvested into the higher education and skills system".
Refugee working rights
A "limited pool" of officially recognised refugees will be allowed to work in the UK through existing sponsored worker routes.
Ministers say this will build on a pilot project that since 2021 has allowed some companies to sponsor refugees to work in specified sectors such as IT, construction and engineering.
English language testsEnglish language tests
The White Paper is thought likely to include tougher English language requirements for immigrants. The government says it will increase the English language requirements for all work visas.
But the Home Office has denied reports that the test for work visa applicants will be raised to the equivalent of English as a foreign language A-Level. The need to demonstrate a basic understanding of English will also be extended to people applying to come to the UK as adult dependents of visa-holders.
At the moment, new arrivals are required to demonstrate a basic understanding of English, equivalent to GCSE level, to be eligible for certain work visas. No overall cap
International care workers The prime minister said the government wants to "significantly" reduce net migration - the number of people coming to the UK minus those leaving - from the record levels it has reached in recent years.
The immigration White Paper is also expected to highlight new rules which came into force last month on the recruitment of international care workers. But the prime minister is not putting a number on the overall level of net migration he wants to see – saying this approach has consistently failed in the past.
Since 9 April, care providers who want to recruit a new worker from overseas have had to first prove that they have attempted to recruit a worker from within England. Opposition parties have also declined to specify exactly what levels of migration they want to see each year.
'Right to family life' The Conservatives now say they would allow MPs to decide annual caps each year through a vote in Parliament.
The government is currently reviewing how the "right to a family life" contained in Article 8 in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is applied in immigration cases - and changes could be included in the White Paper.
Last month, Yvette Cooper told the BBC "ad hoc" decisions by the courts have for too long been driving the way in which the law is interpreted "rather than having a clear framework set out by government".
"So we do think it is possible to have a stronger framework that is set out around the way in which international law should be interpreted," she told the Today programme.
"We obviously continue to comply with international law, but it's about how it is interpreted. We're reviewing that at the moment."
Last year, Cooper successfully appealed against an immigration tribunal's decision to halt the deportation of an Albanian criminal partly on the grounds that it would be "unduly harsh" on his 10-year-old son, who had emotional and sensory difficulties and "will not eat the type of chicken nuggets that are available abroad".
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