The UK government announced a "five-point plan" to reduce net migration on December 4, 2023, in response to recent high net migration figures. These include increasing the overall eligibility requirement for Skilled Worker visas, removal of the salary discount for jobs requiring shortage occupation roles, and prohibiting care workers from bringing dependents. The government's view is that by making it harder to recruit from overseas “the government is prioritising growing our domestic workforce”.

The government anticipates that this plan will build on restrictions on student dependents that were previously announced, in addition to the increases in application fees and immigration health surcharges. The annual reduction in net migration is estimated to amount to 300,000 individuals. The main reforms included in the announcement are outlined below and are expected to be implemented in Spring 2024.

The minimum salary for skilled Workers will increase from £26,200 to £38,700

From £26,200 to £38,700, the general salary threshold for sponsoring a Skilled Worker will increase. Currently, the gross median earnings for full-time employees in the United Kingdom stand at £34,963. Additionally, it represents a nearly 50% increase over the existing threshold.

'Exempt' from this increase will be health and care visas and occupations with national pay scales (e.g., teachers); however, it is currently unknown whether the current threshold of £20,960 will remain the same or be abolished.

Certain occupations will be priced out, and only the most senior members of many medium-skilled occupations (at Levels 3 to 5 of the Regulated Qualifications Framework) will remain eligible to apply due to the effect of such a substantial increase in the general salary threshold. This is because the new threshold corresponds to the median income for skilled roles in aggregate. Furthermore, in certain skilled occupations, such as those in construction, retail, hospitality, food production, and food processing, it might also be over the upper end of the range.

The 20% discount is to be abolished and the Shortage Occupation List is reviewed

The 20% salary reduction offered to those recruited for jobs in shortage occupations will no longer be available. Following the Migration Advisory Committee's (MAC) October 2023 review of the shortage occupation list, this announcement was expected.

The Home Office has also requested more advice from the MAC over the creation of a new immigration Salary List that includes fewer occupations than the one it currently has. There will be a general salary threshold discount on this list.

The Graduate visa route is set to be reviewed and maybe abolished once more

The Home Office will commission the MAC to review policy options for reforming the Graduate visa route in order to "prevent abuse" and better support graduates' pathway into high-quality jobs.

Dependents will no longer be eligible to be sponsored by care workers

It was expected that the addition of care workers to the list of occupations eligible for the Health and Care route would only be a temporary post-pandemic solution. However, this occupation is expected to be included in the short- to medium-term due to ongoing underinvestment in the sector and an ageing population. Since this occupation was added to the shortage occupation list at the beginning of the year, the Home Office has been keeping a careful eye on it due to its high usage and instances of worker exploitation.

For this route, the following two announcements have been made:

The Care Quality Commission will oversee care facilities, and care workers employed under the Health and Care Visa will be ineligible to bring dependents.

After evidence of abuse of the sponsorship regime, the first change aims to prevent bogus care home businesses from sponsoring care workers.

The second change makes it such that workers on settlement routes are not permitted to have their families accompany them. It is likely to prove controversial. Those who have families will continue to be apart from them even after the worker settles due to the low wages that carer workers receive. This is because they are unlikely to be able to meet the increased family route minimum income threshold announced as part of the new plan.

The minimum income requirements for those looking to sponsor family members to immigrate to the UK are rising from £18,600 to £38,700.

The announcement confirms that the primary minimum income threshold for sponsoring partners under Appendix FM will increase from £18,600 to £38,700. The additional income requirement to sponsor children is yet to be clarified.

Potential impacts of the recently announced new immigration rules

There might be a big effect. Just twelve of the more than 260 occupation codes have minimum income requirements that are higher than £38,700. In recent years, the number of skilled workers entering the UK has increased dramatically, largely due to Brexit and the large number of people who have left the employment market. According to the government, the new changes will result in a 300,000 reduction in net migration.

There is concern that chronic employment shortages in numerous sectors are a problem in the United Kingdom.

There isn't enough information now, but it will come. Though there may still be some leeway, there is no indication that the earlier compensation reductions—such as the 20% for new hires—are being abolished.

For the reasons given below, there is a slight possibility that these changes will be softened down:

• In 2024, there will probably be a general election in the spring or autumn. There may not be enough time in parliament to discuss and decide on the new rules. The government will probably wait to implement the changes until it has heard how the public and businesses respond to the plan.
• There is still a severe lack of jobs in many sectors of the UK industry. Due to the fact that hiring the proper personnel would become more difficult and expensive, both small and large firms may put pressure on the government over this decision.
• The new rules for family visas will very likely be challenged in court. If the previous decisions regarding the current rules are anything to go by (e.g., the case of MM), the justification for this higher minimum income threshold may be difficult to justify on human rights grounds (which is why the current government will likely need to revoke the Human Rights Act too for this to work).

Following the procedures to take

As we await the complete details, including the establishment of the new Immigration Rules that incorporate these changes, it is difficult to provide clear advice. Nevertheless, businesses can attempt to anticipate these changes by implementing certain measures. These are the following:

• To start, talk to your employees, particularly the sponsored ones. It is unlikely that people who are now on the skilled worker route will need to comply with the new rules while we wait for more information. Talk to those who are thinking about getting a family visa for themselves, their partner, or their children as well. We have received a lot of calls from clients who are concerned about the changes. Those who were already on the family visa route prior to the changes taking effect will probably continue on it and will not be impacted.
• Advance your plans to sponsor any employees you may have during the following six months. It's likely that those currently receiving the salary and route for skilled workers will continue to follow the current rules rather than the new ones.
• Carrying out recruitment plans, particularly if you expect to sponsor possible candidates for employment.
• By taking into account the following options, you can somewhat offset the new costs:
• Having policies in place that require workers to reimburse specific immigration expenses if they leave within a predetermined time frame; workers reimburse immigration expenses with their salaries
• You require employees to cover the costs of their own immigration fees.
• Take into account recruiting straight from student pools. There is no indication that the new entrant discounts will be removed as we wait for further information. Most likely, the 20% discount will still be valid.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the new immigration rules, please do not hesitate to contact us.