UK Proposes Tightening Visa Rules to Reduce Legal Migration

The UK government is seeking to tighten visa requirements to curb the number of workers arriving in the country through legal routes. The measures propose new graduate level requirements for skilled visa applicants and limits on lower-skilled visas.

The UK government is seeking to tighten visa requirements to curb the number of workers arriving in the country through legal routes. The measures propose new graduate level requirements for skilled visa applicants and limits on lower-skilled visas, as outlined in the upcoming Immigration White Paper.

The UK's net rate of migration remains historically high, with the number of people staying permanently in the UK rising 80% between 2021 and 2024. The number of dependents entering the UK jumped 360% between 2021 and 2023, according to the Home Office. In response, the government is planning to introduce stricter visa rules to manage these figures.

The proposed measures include granting lower-skilled time-limited visas only on the basis of strong evidence of worker shortages and where employers can commit to increasing domestic skills and recruitment. Additionally, visas for skilled overseas workers will be time-limited for those not taking a graduate-level job, with the standard skilled visa threshold applying only to jobs gauged at six on the regulated qualifications framework (RQF), equivalent to a degree [3].

The government aims to address the surge in legal migration, which has tripled since the previous Conservative government created the skilled worker visa program in 2020. The program was framed as a way for the UK to exert more control over its borders after leaving the European Union. However, the government has been criticized for not doing enough to prevent the exploitation of visa holders, such as trafficking or debt bondage, particularly in the care sector [2].

The new measures come as part of a broader plan to reduce net migration, which is under significant pressure following the rise of Reform UK. The party, which is promising an effective freeze on most migration, is topping most polls of national voter preference. The government hopes that these changes will help to restore control and order to the immigration system, raise domestic training and skills, and bring down net migration while promoting economic growth [3].

The impact of these changes on industries such as care and hospitality remains to be seen. One care organization warned that without coherent government action to attract UK staff, more care providers could go out of business. The establishment of the Labour Market Evidence Group aims to address this by informing understanding of where sectors are overly reliant on overseas labour and reversing underinvestment in domestic skills [3].

References:
[1] https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/UK-plans-restricting-visa-applications-from-some-nationalities-49836172/
[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-10/uk-proposes-tightening-visa-rules-to-reduce-legal-migration
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/may/11/uk-to-time-limit-visas-for-roles-below-graduate-level-under-new-migration-plan