Immigration white paper UK 2025: Immigration white paper to Strengthen Borders and Reduce Migration
The goals are to reduce the record-high levels of net migration, restore control of our borders, and implement radical changes to Britain’s immigration system.
With tougher skills requirements for workers and graduates, the immigration white paper released today (Monday, May 12) outlines measures that will change our immigration system to favour individuals who contribute most to economic growth.
A broken system that saw net migration triple between 2019 and 2023 will be put back in order with new rules requiring firms to increase domestic training.
The 82-page plan, which is titled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, contains the following important policies:
- Reversing the long-term pattern of hiring more people from abroad at the price of education and training
- Instead of solely depending on migration, the labour market evidence group will be formed, using the finest data available to make well-informed choices regarding the state of the labour market and the role that various policies should play.
- Sector bodies will be consulted by government ministries as part of this strategy.
Increasing the bar for talented workers—skilled must equate to skilled
Restoring skilled workers’ status to RQF 6 (Graduate level) and higher. Levels of pay will increase.
People will no longer be eligible for salary threshold discounts under the immigration salary list.
On a time-limited basis, access to the points-based immigration system will be restricted to occupations with long-standing shortages, where the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended it is justified, where a workforce strategy is in place, and where employers who wish to hire foreign workers are dedicated to doing their share to increase hiring from the domestic workforce.
Social care for adults
Stop hiring foreigners for social care visas. We will stop accepting new applications from overseas for social care visas in accordance with our broader revisions to skills standards.
We will allow visa extensions and in-country switching for individuals who are already in the nation during a transition period until 2028 while the workforce plan is being created and implemented. This will continue to be monitored.
Study
In order to attract international students, we shall tighten the conditions that all sponsoring institutions must fulfil.
We will implement new measures for sponsors who are on the verge of violating their sponsor responsibilities, such as putting them on an action plan aimed at enhancing their compliance and limiting the quantity of new international students they are permitted to hire at that time.
After completing their studies, graduates will only be permitted to stay in the UK for a maximum of 18 months.
Family
We will address the excessively complicated immigration laws pertaining to families and private lives, where an excessive number of instances are handled as “exceptional” instead of having a defined framework.
To make it obvious that the government and Parliament make the decisions on who should be allowed to stay in the UK, legislation will be introduced. This will deal with situations when deportation is being thwarted by legal arguments based on Article 8’s right to family life, even when removal is obviously in the public interest.
Growth
We’ll go above and above to make sure that the most highly qualified individuals have the chance to visit the UK and take advantage of our exclusive pathways for the greatest and most talented people in the world.
Along with quicker ways for bringing individuals with the necessary training and expertise to the UK, this entails expanding the amount of people arriving on our extremely high talent routes in order to boost the country’s growth in key industries.
This entails expanding the number of spots available in our program for research interns, streamlining the application process for our Global Talent visa for exceptional scientists and designers, and reevaluating our High Potential Individual and Innovator Founder visas to optimise their contribution to the UK economy.
Tackling abuse
People who apply for asylum in situations where conditions in their home country have not significantly changed will be subject to new regulations, especially if they applied for asylum after arriving.
Based on a thorough evaluation of the risks, further visa rules, limitations, requirements, or inspection will be implemented in cases where we have proof of abuse.
Steps to guarantee that foreign nations fulfil their obligations to uphold the integrity of the UK immigration system, especially in cases where we are currently unable to repatriate their citizens.
When there is proof of abuse, creative financial measures, fines, or sanctions may be applied, even to sponsors of students or foreign workers. Together with new initiatives to encourage migrant compliance with visa requirements, they will encourage them to behave properly.
Foreign national offenders (FNOs)
Make changes to the deportation process so that the Home Office is notified of all foreign nationals found guilty of crimes, not only those who are imprisoned.
To make sure that the deportation test reflects the severity of violence against women and girls, start by updating the statutory exclusions criteria. Then, review deportation thresholds to consider more than just sentence length.
The English language
To guarantee a greater proficiency in English, as well as an evaluation of advancements over time, new English language standards should be implemented for both primary applicants and their dependents across a wider range of immigration pathways.
Citizenship and settlement earned
Double the typical settlement qualifying term to ten years.
Extend the points-based system to our citizenship and settlement laws so that they are determined by our contributions to the UK. By the end of the year, more specifics will be presented to Parliament.
The first reforms are expected to be implemented in the upcoming weeks. The measures, which are part of the government’s Plan for Change, will be implemented throughout this Parliament to improve the UK’s immigration system.
Later this summer, the government will release more border security and asylum reforms, expanding on the provisions in the Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill that is already making its way through Parliament.
Immigration white paper UK 2025