Following Labour’s victory in the recent general election, the new government has announced some of its policies regarding immigration to the UK. Although business immigration does not appear to be high on the agenda and employers are unlikely to see significant change in the short term, the government has made some general statements about proposed changes, which provide some indication of changes we might see in the near future.
Reform of the points-based system
Labour’s manifesto stated that it would reform the points-based system through ‘appropriate restrictions on visas’. So far, there is no further detail relating to this.
Reduction in overall net migration figures
The government has stated that it intends to reduce the overall net migration figures, yet there are no specific details as to how they intend to do this.
In 2023, net migration figures had reached the highest they have ever been at 685,000. The visa policy changes introduced by the last government in early 2024, which included students and care workers no longer being unable to bring dependants with them to the UK, are expected to already be impacting these numbers.
Skilled Worker Visas – skills policies
The government has made a general statement that they intend to link immigration and skills policy more closely. While they have provided limited details as to how they intend to do this, there are some indicators of how this may impact certain businesses and sectors by restricting their ability to sponsor overseas workers:
- The government has stated they will address shortages in key areas such as construction, IT and engineering by reforming the apprenticeship levy to upskill resident workers.
- Where businesses are not doing enough to implement workforce training, they will not allow them to sponsor workers.
- Where a sector is not engaging with its workforce plan, they intend to remove it from the Immigration Salary List.
- They intend to strengthen the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and link it to skills bodies across the country.
Skilled Worker Visas - more enforcement
Labour has stated its intention to increase enforcement activity against employers who breach employment and immigration laws, which is expected to lead to an increase in home office visits and general scrutiny for employers who employ sponsored workers.
- Where they identify rogue employers who are not engaging with minimum wage and other employment law protections, they will increase their ineligibility periods for obtaining a sponsor licence.
- The new government also intends to establish a new body to enforce employment rights and investigate the exploitation of migrant workers in the care sector.
Additionally, Labour has announced that they will commission the Migration Advisory Committee to investigate the effects of salary threshold increases that were introduced in April 2024 and the restrictions on care workers bringing family members to the UK as their dependants. Currently, there appears to be no intention to change or reverse either of these recent changes.
No doubt the government will turn its attention to business immigration at some point and more details will be provided, but for the time being, it looks like employers can expect business as usual.