The United Kingdom is embarking on significant alterations to its immigration policies, signaling a major shift in its approach. As per announcements from the UK Home Office, the British government is initiating what it describes as the most substantial cut in migration to date. This initiative involves a considerable increase in the salary threshold for skilled worker visas, amounting to a 48% rise, alongside the elimination of the Shortage Occupation List and the discontinuation of the 20% salary discount.
The government has introduced a series of measures, including laying orders in Parliament to abolish the 20% salary discount previously applicable to shortage occupations and to elevate the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers to ₤38,700.
“We have taken action to prevent British workers from being undercut,” stated the UK Home Office. The revisions to the Skilled Worker route encompass a notable expansion of supplementary employment permissions, adjustments to the general salary thresholds across various tradeable points options, and the incorporation of tradeable points options to accommodate individuals under transitional arrangements.
The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) will be supplanted by the Immigration Salary List, which includes the removal of the 20% going rate discount for occupations on the ISL, effective from April 4th of this year. With net migration reaching a record high last year and an upcoming election anticipated later this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces mounting pressure from the right wing of his party to curtail migration, as reported by Bloomberg.
It is projected that immigration will contribute to an increase of 6.1 million people in the UK population by mid-2036. Earlier forecasts by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicate that the UK population will surge from 67 million in mid-2021 to 73.7 million in mid-2036, predominantly fueled by migration.
Recent actions by Sunak’s government have also seen the implementation of new visa regulations aimed at restricting overseas care workers, including those from India, from bringing dependent family members to the UK. This move seeks to address what the Home Office has characterized as a “disproportionate” scenario, where 120,000 dependents accompanied 100,000 workers on the care visa route last year.
Source: economictimes
