Following a historic landslide election victoryfor the Labour Party in the general election, it will be interesting to see whether there will be a change of direction for immigration policies after 14 years of Conservative governance.
In terms of the immigration policies which we can expect from the new Labour government, we have provided a breakdown of all the key immigration points from Labour's election manifesto.
1. Reducing net migration
Similar to the intentions of the previous Conservative government, Labour has pledged to reduce net migration. Figures which were published before the general election showed a net figure of 685,000 migrants arriving in the UK last year. Labour aims to lower the annual figure to a couple of hundred thousand without setting an overall target.
2. Immigration system for work related visas
- Reforming the Points Based System
Labour plan to reform the points-based immigration system so that it is "fair and properly managed," with appropriate restrictions on visas, by linking immigration and skills policy.
- Reducing the reliance on migrant workers
Labour wish to reduce the reliance on foreign workers in sectors including construction, IT, social care, health and engineering. To implement this plan, Labour intend to link skills and immigration policies so that employers and sectors which request high numbers of work visas would have to enact training workforce plans to fill those skills gaps with workers who are already in the UK.
Sir Keir Starmer announced on 2 June 2024 a plan to bring down net migration by training more UK workers and protect working conditions "by passing laws to ban employers who are reliant on recruiting skilled workers from overseas as a default from doing so."
- Strengthening the relationship with the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)
Labour aim to strengthen the role of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) by establishing a framework for collaboration with UK skills bodies such as the Industrial Strategy Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.
- Will there be a change to the skilled worker salary threshold
As Labour failed to object to the substantial increase of the "general salary" threshold of £38,700 for foreign skilled workers which was implemented by the former government in April 2024, it seems unlikely that the skilled worker salary threshold will be reviewed or lowered.
- Sponsors who abuse the visa system
It was stated within Labour's manifesto that employers "who abuse the visa system" or "breach employment laws" will be barred from hiring workers from abroad.
Although this warning may suggest severe consequences for breaching or abusing immigration laws by having licences suspended or revoked, it is worth noting that current sponsor obligations already include wide-ranging requirements for sponsors to play their part in ensuring the immigration system is not abused.
During the year to the end of March 2024, Home Office data reports showed a 90% increase in Skilled Worker licence suspensions and a 20% increase in Skilled Worker licence revocations on the same period a year before.
- Health and Care visas
Due to a recent increase of health care sponsors considered to be abusing the sponsorship system, Labour aim to establish a body to enforce employment rights and investigate migrant worker exploitation within the health and social care sector. It is vital that employers in this sector take notice of this and ensure their compliance with sponsor duties is rigorously maintained.
Furthermore, as it stands, Labour do not intend to reverse the prohibition set by the previous government from prohibiting dependants being able to accompany or join care workers to the UK.
3. Student visas
The newly appointed Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has recently indicated that Labour would retain the ban on family members from joining migrant students who aren't enrolled on post-graduate research related courses.
4. Family Routes
Labour haven't openly confirmed that they intend to stop or reverse the increases to the minimum income requirement in relation to the partner route, currently £29,000 annual income. However, if Labour intend to reduce net migration, they may continue to proceed with the proposed changes outlined by the previous government to increase the income threshold for partner visas from £29,000 to £38,700 by Spring 2025. This would cause huge problems for many families seeking to reunite in the UK.
5. Immigration Fees
There has been no mention of changes to immigration fees and in particular, the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) fees which were substantially increased by the Conservative government earlier in 2024.
6. Plans to prevent illegal migration
The labour government have set illegal migration as one of their key priorities, and the Labour manifesto has pledged to curb small boats crossing the English Channel by hiring investigators and using counter-terrorism powers to take down criminal people smuggling gangs.
7. Asylum
Labour wish to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly; and the rules are properly enforced. Labour will set up a new return and enforcement unit with an additional 1,000 staff, and also introduce a "fast track" removals system to safe countries for people who don't have a right to stay in the UK. Furthermore, Labour intends to work with international partners to address humanitarian issues, and to strengthen support for refugee in their home regions.
It is worth mentioning that there is a large backlog of unprocessed asylum claims that built up between 2018 and 2022; and according to Home Office figures at the end of March 2024, a total of 118,329 people were waiting for an initial decision on UK asylum applications.
8. Abolishment of the Rwanda policy
Ending this article on a positive, Sir Kier Starmer, confirmed on his first full day as Prime Minister that the Rwanda deportation scheme is "dead and buried" and promised a more effective approach to tackling illegal migration.
The Rwanda scheme which was implemented by the Conservative government has cost around £310 million, and not a single person was removed under the scheme.
Furthermore, Labour will continue to remain a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
