The Home Secretary has delivered on his promise to transform the
UK's immigration system, cut unsustainable and unfair levels of
migration, and ensure those arriving here do not burden the
taxpayer.
The final measure in the Prime Minister and Home Secretary's
package to reduce legal migration will see the minimum income
required to sponsor someone coming to the UK on a family visa
increased from £18,600 to £29,000 from today (11 April) – an
increase of more than 55%. By early 2025, this will have
increased 2 more times, rising to £38,700 – to meet the new
salary threshold for a Skilled Worker visa.
Today's change comes as the Home Secretary meets his commitment
to implement his major package of reforms to the immigration
system within weeks of announcing them – which came following the
unveiling of measures to tighten the student visa route in May
2023. It means approximately 300,000 people arriving in the
UK last year would no longer be able to.
The full set of measures, which have all been implemented,
include:
- ending the ability of nearly all students to bring dependants
to the UK
- restricting care workers from bringing family members
- requiring care providers to register with the Care Quality
Commission if they are sponsoring migrant care workers
- commissioning the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to carry
out a rapid review of the Graduate route for international
students to prevent abuse, protect the integrity and quality of
UK higher education and ensure it works in the best interests of
the UK
- increasing the minimum salary required for those arriving on
the Skilled Worker visa, from £26,200 to £38,700
- replacing the Shortage Occupation List with a new Immigration
Salary List, with employers no longer able to pay migrants less
than UK workers in shortage occupations
Home Secretary, James Cleverly, said:
We have reached a tipping point with mass migration. There is no
simple solution or easy decision which cuts numbers to levels
acceptable to the British people.
Whether it was words unsupported by action, unfounded optimism or
just plain wishful thinking that migration would fall on its own,
indifference of any kind is never going to work - only determined
action, backed by strong resolve, will deliver needed
change.
I promised action and we have delivered at remarkable speed.
We've acted to cut unsustainable numbers, to protect British
workers and their wages, to ensure those bringing family to the
UK do not burden taxpayers, and to build an immigration system
fit for the future - and one the public can rightly have
confidence in.
The staged approach to increasing the income requirement gives
predictability to families, enabling them to plan accordingly,
whilst ensuring that anyone coming to the UK to be with their
family or loved ones is supported financially.
The government has been clear that family life cannot be
established in the UK at the expense of taxpayers, and migrants
joining their family must integrate into society and play a full
part in British life.
The income requirement, which had remained unchanged for more
than a decade, helps to ensure families are self-sufficient and
not relying on public funds, whilst making a positive impact on
the economy. The sponsoring family member, or in combination with
the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work, must
now have an income of at least £29,000 earned in the UK. The
requirement can be met in a number of ways, including through
savings exclusively or in addition to a lower income.
The government has been clear that current levels of immigration
are too high – putting pressure on public services, housing, and
undercutting British workers – which is why decisive action was
taken in December. The government's ambition for a high-skill,
high-wage economy cannot rely on mass migration, and measures
introduced as part of the package will protect British workers,
encourage business to invest in, and recruit, workers
domestically, while prioritising only the very best talent from
abroad.
Delivery of this comprehensive series of measures comes as the
government cracks down on rising migration, both legally and
illegally, and reforms the immigration system. The plan is
working, with small boats crossings down by around a third last
year. Work continues to tackle this global challenge and this
includes stepped-up enforcement action with international
partners to clamp down on criminal gangs.
