New UK Visa Rules: Key points at-a-glance
Posted by Ahmed Iyanda | 11 months ago | 998 times
The Uk government has unveiled a package of measures in a bid to curb immigration.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said the changes, which are due to take effect from next spring, would deliver the biggest ever cut in net migration.
“Enough is enough,” Cleverly told MPs on Monday. “Immigration policy must be fair, legal, and sustainable,” he said.
The new development comes after net migration, the difference between the number of people coming to live in the UK and those leaving, reached a record 745,000 last year.
1,180,000 individuals entered the UK with the intention of remaining for at least a year in the year that ended in June 2023, as reported by the BBC.
The latest figures by the UK Office of National Statistics shows that the majority of people arriving in the UK, about 968,000, are from non-EU countries.
The top five non-EU nationalities were:Indian (253,000), Nigerian (141,000), Chinese (89,000), Pakistani (55,000), Ukrainian (35,000).
The home secretary described the new policy as a “more robust” plan than any previous government’s stance on migration.
Below are the five-point plan to cut immigration:
Health and care visas
The annual fee visa holders must pay to use the NHS - known as the immigration health surcharge, which will rise from £624 to £1,035.
A measure to put a stop to the “abuse of the health and care visa” has been proposed, which would prohibit overseas care workers from bringing their dependents. The government defines a dependant as a husband or wife, a civil partner or single partner, and children under the age of eighteen.
Minimum salary for UK skilled worker visa to increase
The minimum salary requirement for obtaining a skilled worker visa, currently set at £26,000, has been increased to £38,700. This is a 50% increase.
However, crucially health and care workers who account for almost half of people on work visas, will be exempted from the increase.
People on national pay scales, such as teachers, will also be exempted.
Shortage occupation list
The Shortage Occupation list includes jobs that the UK government believes are hard to fill in the labour market for UK residents.
The list covers a wide range of sectors including health, education, care work and construction and is designed to make it easier for employers to fill vacancies where there is a shortage of workers in the UK.
The government, however seeks to stop immigration undercutting British workers and is planning to scrap the 20% discount.
Family visas
The minimum income required for British citizens who want to bring a foreign family member or partner to live with them in the UK is rising from £18,600 to £38,700 a year.
To further “ensure people only bring dependants whom they can support financially,” the minimum requirement for a family visa will also be increased to £38,700, from £18,600, the rate from 2012.
Student Visas
The new rule says graduate visa allows someone to stay in the country for at least two years after successfully completing a course in the UK
“In total, this package, plus our reduction in students dependants, will mean around 300,000 fewer people will come in future years than have come to the UK last year,” Cleverly told MPs.
More than 98,000 graduate visas were granted in the year to June.
Recall that the UK government announced plans to limit the number of students who can bring family members with them to the UK.
The changes, remove the right of international students to bring dependents unless they are on postgraduate research courses.
Students will also no longer be allowed to switch onto work visas before their studies are completed.
The UK government anticipates that these changes will result in around 300,000 fewer people coming to the UK in the future compared to the previous year.
