UK Migration and New Rules Lecture Notes

May 26, 2024

Lecture Notes: UK Migration and New Rules

Introduction

  • Statistics from BBC on UK migration and changing salary rules.
  • Reflection on implications of these changes.
  • Speculation on the government's motivations for recent elections.

Migration Statistics

  • Net migration in 2023:
    • Fell by more than 10%.
    • 685,000 in 2023 vs. 764,000 in 2022.
    • 1.2 million arrivals and 532,000 departures.
    • Highest net migration originally recorded in 2022.

Government's Response

  • Increased salary requirement for visas to reduce numbers.
  • Policies and new rules leading to a decrease in net migration.

Impacts of COVID-19 and Government Policies

  • Migration dip during COVID-19 (2019-2020).
  • Post-COVID policies to attract students and skilled workers.
  • Recent fall in migration due to new policies.

New Rules and Their Effects

  • Salary Requirements:
    • Skilled worker visa salary requirement increased to £38,700.
    • Expected to reduce number of new visa applicants.
  • Dependents:
    • Ban on students and certain workers bringing dependents.
    • Significant drop in dependent visas (down 79% as of early 2024).
  • Health and Care Worker Visas:
    • Number of these visas falling.

Detailed Migration Data

  • Top Nationalities:
    • 10% of migrants were EU nationals.
    • Significant number of non-EU migrants.
    • Humanitarian visas: 50,000 from Ukraine and Hong Kong.

Family and Student Visas

  • Family visas also impacted by new policies.
  • Student Visas:
    • Decrease in number of study visas issued.
    • Restrictions on dependents for postgraduate students (only for research programs).
  • Graduate visas being reviewed for potential abuses but recommended to continue.

Seasonal Workers

  • Seasonal worker visas issued for agricultural and poultry workers.
  • 45,000 - 55,000 such visas available annually.
  • Affected by UK's exit from EU.

Brexit Impact

  • Freedom of movement for EU and UK citizens ended in Jan 2021.
  • Need for workers to support UK economy post-Brexit.

Political Context

  • Recent call for general election by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
  • Immigration likely to be a key issue.
  • Conservative party's 2019 promise to cut overall migration numbers.

Conclusion

  • New rules and policies have started showing results in terms of reduced migration.
  • Ongoing political debate and future statistics will reveal more.
  • Updates to come as the situation develops.