Policy
The Labour Party Manifesto promises to reduce net migration by reforming the points-based immigration system “with appropriate restrictions on visas and by linking immigration and skills policy.”
The Government is planning to publish an immigration White Paper on legal migration policy. It was announced that this would be published in early 2025 and had originally been expected before Parliament rose for the Easter recess, but it is now not expected until after the local elections in May 2025.
Current policy proposals include:
- Review of IT and engineering roles – In August 2024, the new Government asked the Migration Advisory Committee (‘MAC’ – the independent expert body which advises the Government on immigration policy) to review UK employers’ reliance on international recruitment for engineering, IT and telecommunications roles. This is expected to be the first of several reviews focusing on sectors heavily dependent on business immigration. MAC will report on engineering, IT and telecommunications roles in nine months’ time (June 2025) to allow for stakeholder input and industry feedback.
- Regional differences – MAC has also been asked to explore differentiated regional immigration approaches in the tech roles review.
- Sponsoring Skilled Workers – The Home Secretary delivered a statement to the House of Commons, which promised to keep most of the previous Government’s five-point plan to reduce immigration to the UK including the recent increased to the general salary threshold of those arriving on Skilled Worker visas.
- Skills review linked to immigration – A new body called Skills England will be introduced via the ‘Skills England Bill’, which will “work with industry, the Migration Advisory Committee, unions and the Industrial Strategy Council to build and maintain a comprehensive assessment of current and future skills needs.” Skills England is currently set up in shadow form within the Department for Education (DfE) with plans to be fully established in 2025.
- Sponsor licence compliance – The Government has promised stricter enforcement against employers who abuse the visa system. In 2024, UK Visas & Immigration revoked 1,620 licences to sponsor workers and temporary workers, compared with 347 in 2023 (an increase of 367%). Suspensions of licences for workers and temporary workers also increased 215%.
- Increased sponsor licence enforcement has particularly affected the care sector as part of a crack down on worker exploitation. Revocation of sponsor licences has left approximately 39,000 care workers without sponsorship or work. The Government has therefore introduced a new requirement that employers seeking to sponsor new care workers from outside the UK must have tried and failed to recruit first from the existing pool of those workers already in the UK who need new sponsorship.
- Graduate visas and the Youth Mobility Scheme – The previous Government ruled out changes to the Graduate route after consultation with the MAC, a conclusion that was agreed by Labour. However, there are suggestions that the Graduate route could face changes in the upcoming White Paper, including restricting them to working in higher skilled/paid occupations. Meanwhile, although the Government has not confirmed any proposals, media reports suggest that a short-term Youth Mobility option for EU citizens is being discussed.
- Family visas – The current income requirement to sponsor a partner on a family visa is likely to stay at £29,000 while the MAC reviews financial requirements. The MAC is expected to report in July 2025.
Timing and developments
Partly mentioned in King’s Speech and more recent communications. Not included in the Employment Rights Bill.
White Paper expected after 2025 local elections.
Await developments but some areas likely to be higher priority than others.
Sources
Labour Party Manifesto, King’s Speech, Statement 30 July 2024, Department for Education, Sponsorship transparency data, New rules to prioritise recruiting care workers in England and Wales, 12 March 2025.