Government initiatives have successfully reduced migration along key routes by 25% in the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Visa applications across key routes have dropped by a quarter as a result of the Home Secretary’s package to manage unsustainable migration. Measures to tighten student visas, implemented in January, have led to a 79% decrease in student dependent applications.
The new rules prevent most international students starting courses this year from bringing family members and prohibit students from switching visas before completing their courses, thereby stopping the misuse of student visas as a backdoor to work in the UK. There were over 30,000 fewer student visa applications between January and April 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Data also shows a significant reduction in Health and Care dependent applications, falling by 58% from 15,100 in April 2023 to 6,400 in April 2024. The government had flagged the rise in care worker dependent visas as unsustainable and is determined to see continued declines through measures requiring firms sponsoring migrant care workers in England to be CQC registered.
Today's visa figures precede the publication of the ONS’s net migration statistics for the year ending December 2023 and the government’s quarterly immigration statistics for the year ending March 2023. However, the ONS figures will not reflect the major measures announced in December, which have already begun to impact migration numbers.
Home Secretary James Cleverly stated:
“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”.
The Home Secretary’s package to reduce legal migration will mean approximately 300,000 fewer people arriving in the UK this year. The package includes:
Increasing the salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas by 48% to £38,700.
Restricting care workers from bringing dependents and requiring care providers acting as sponsors in England to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Abolishing the shortage occupation list and introducing a new immigration salary list, preventing employers from paying migrants less than UK workers in shortage occupations.
Raising the minimum income requirement for the family visa to match the Skilled Worker visa, currently £38,700, by early 2025.
These measures are part of the government’s broader plan to reduce both legal and illegal migration and reform the immigration system. The plan has already shown success, with a reduction in small boat crossings by about a third last year. Efforts continue to tackle global migration challenges by working with international partners and clamping down on criminal gangs through increased enforcement.
The government is also working to grow and support the domestic social care workforce, with initiatives led by the Department of Health and Social Care that include better training, clearer career paths, and improved job prospects through a new accredited qualification. Additionally, the Department for Work and Pensions has announced plans to fill roles previously held by foreign workers with unemployed Brits, aiming to reduce reliance on overseas labor.
With the Safety of Rwanda Act passed and the treaty with Rwanda ratified, the government is finalizing the implementation of this policy, with the first flight to Rwanda scheduled for early July. Photo by Doltography, Wikimedia commons.