UK Home Secretary Unveils Sweeping Immigration Reforms To Control Rising Net Migration

The UK government, led by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, is set to introduce sweeping reforms to its immigration system aimed at reducing net migration, which reached 728,000 in 2024. The Immigration White Paper will raise the skilled visa threshold to degree level and impose tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages, requiring employers to develop domestic training plans to boost British employment. Officials will establish a labour market evidence group to identify sectors overly reliant on overseas workers, and low-skilled worker visas will be limited and time-restricted. These changes respond to concerns that previous policies allowed excessive overseas recruitment while domestic training was neglected, contributing to a quadrupling of net migration post-Brexit. Additional measures under consideration include extending the waiting period for indefinite leave to remain up to 10 years and introducing visa caps based on the country's needs. The reforms seek to restore control, fairness, and economic growth by promoting domestic skills development and reducing dependence on foreign labor.