UK’s new immigration policy has helped bring the migration numbers down. A decrease of 25% has been observed in the first four months of this year. The UK planned to bring the net migration down (a 300,000 difference was seen in 2023) and this is why the government has introduced new regulations for student visas, worker visas, and family reunification routes.
According to the UKVI, for all key routes, a decrease has been seen in the first four months of 2024 which is a big success for the Home Secretary James Cleverly who planned the sticker rules along with the migration advisory committee. He said about this change:
“The plan to deliver the largest-ever cut to legal migration in our country’s history is working. This monthly data is the most up-to-date picture of visa levels, showing that on current trajectories legal migration continues to fall across key routes.
The British people deserve an immigration system that puts their interests first. Our approach is about control and fairness; to the highly skilled coming here who deserve a decent wage, to taxpayers who shouldn’t be relied on to support them, and to British workers who shouldn’t be undercut.
We will continue to keep these measures under close review and if needed, we will not hesitate to go further”.
Source: UKVI
Decline in Student Visa Applications
Starting from January 2024, the new stricter rules have helped bring 79% fewer applications from the dependent of international students. International students also no longer switch the visa route before they complete their course of study. The educational institutions have also faced problems that do not fulfill the higher education standards of the UK. Overall, during January and April 2024, about 30,000 fewer visa applications were submitted by the candidates wishing to study in the UK compared with the same period in 2023.
Decrease in Care Workers’ Applications
Since the UK has banned carers from sponsoring their family members from 11 March 2024, there has also been a considerable decline in this route as well.
Approximately, a 58% decline has been noticed, from 15,100 applications in April 2023 to 6,400 in April 2024. The government is expecting the numbers to come down more in the future as the previous increase in numbers is deemed disproportionate and unsustainable. UK observed the unexpected 120,000 dependants of care workers who came to the UK last year till September. The Care Workers counted to 101,000 of the skilled worker visas.
Changes that caused the migration numbers to fall
Overall, the following are the factors that helped the UK bring the migration numbers fall this year from January to April 2024:
- from 12 March 2024, a ban and restriction on care workers bringing family dependants to the UK;
- Abolishing the shortage occupations list;
- Healthcare surcharge to rise to £1035 annually;
- Minimum salary for UK skilled worker visa to increase (£38,700 per year) from 4 April 2024;
- Changes of the occupations code;
- Mandatory registration for the carer companies to CQC,
- Introduction of the new “Immigration Salary List”.