Business Immigration, Part 1: reducing net migration

With a new government in place, significant changes to immigration policies are on the horizon. The Government has pledged a ‘fair and properly managed immigration system’, emphasising humane treatment and stricter enforcement.

The King’s Speech committed to modernising the asylum and immigration system while establishing new measures to tackle organised immigration crime.

Reducing net migration

The Government aims to reduce net migration, train more UK workers to fill roles, and reduce reliance on migrant workers.

Immigration system for work-related visas

‘to reform the points-based immigration system so that it is fair and properly managed, with appropriate restrictions on visas, and by linking immigration and skills policy’.

Changes to the Points-Based System may include restrictions to decrease dependency on migrant workers. The Government intends to support British businesses in hiring local talent first and to integrate skills and immigration policies, requiring employers and sectors that heavily rely on work visas to implement workforce training programmes to address skill gaps with UK-based workers.

Sponsor licence holders

‘employers who flout the rules will be barred from hiring workers from abroad’. 

The Government plans stricter enforcement for sponsor license holders, ensuring compliance with visa rules and employment laws. Employers who abuse the system or fail to upskill resident workers may lose their ability to hire from abroad. The reintroduction of the Resident Labour Market Test is also a possibility, which would add complexity to the current skilled worker visa process. The Migration Advisory Committee will no doubt investigate which sectors would benefit more from international recruitment.

All sponsor licence holders must ensure they meet their sponsorship duties or risk losing their licence. This comes after:

• The Immigration Enforcement data showed an increase in the number of penalties issued for illegal working. In the first quarter of 2024, 412 penalties worth £8.1 million were issued and
• The Home Office statistics reflect 14,374 decisions on sponsor licences  between January and March 2024, 56% up on the same period in 2023.

Care workers

Since 2022, the Health and Care visa route has contributed significantly to net migration numbers in the UK. However, UK Visas and Immigration is watching this route closely for abuse and exploitation of migrant workers. The recent ban on care workers’ dependants may be retained. Further changes could potentially lead to increased audits, suspensions, and license revocations.

Student and graduate migration

The Graduate route, introduced in July 2021, allows UK graduates a two-year visa to work in the UK. The Government has not indicated any changes to this route. Still, it supports the ban on family members joining migrant students not enrolled in postgraduate research courses.

Part 2: Fee Thresholds & Digital Transformation

We’ll consider fees thresholds and the Home Office’s vision to implement eVisas in Part 2

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