LONDON – The recently elected government of the United Kingdom (UK) is exploring the option to impose visa curbs on foreign workers in the fields of Engineering, Information Technology, and Telecommunication.
Although no policy decision has been made in this regard as of now, the Home Secretary has visibly signaled changes to the visa conditions in her latest communication with the Migration Advisory Committee.
Yvette Cooper on Wednesday asked the Migration Advisory Committee to investigate which roles in tech and engineering were suffering shortages, whether pay, training and conditions explained any shortfalls, and how employers had sought to adapt other than by hiring from abroad.
In her letter, the official highlighted that while the government was “very grateful for the contribution that people from all over the world make to our economy . . . the system needs to be managed and controlled”.
Cooper desires the Migration Advisory Committee to “look at key occupations to understand the reasons behind their reliance on international recruitment” and experts believe that the changes could include increasing the minimum salary threshold for overseas workers in specified sectors.
The Home Secretary noted that high levels of international recruitment reflected weaknesses and persistent skills shortages in the UK labour market, and the existing system is not operating in the national interest.
It is to be highlighted that while the government seeks a review of employment in some sectors, it has paused the rules which stopped people earning under £38,700 from bringing foreign partners.
The salary hike was introduced by Rishi Sunak’s regime under which the government increased the minimum income requirement for sponsoring a foreign spouse or partner visa; the change was introduced to reduce legal immigration to the country.
As part of the plan, Sunak’s government increased the income threshold from £18,600 to £29,000 per year in April, with plans to increase it to £34,500 later this year and £38,700 by early 2025.
As per the fresh announcement by new Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper there will be “no further changes” to the current £29,000-a-year wage threshold to bring a family member from abroad.
The pause would remain in effect until a review of the family visa policy has been completed and the home secretary has said that she will order the Migration Advisory Committee to launch a review.
