UK: Immigration reform plans are an own goal

The recent launch of plans to reform the UK’s immigration system reflects the government’s effort to regain the initiative on this issue. But looking at the finer detail of migration to the UK shows restrictions introduced by the previous government, particularly around visas for social care workers and international students, have already led to fewer people arriving in the UK.

What’s more, these latest proposals risk worsening crises in these key sectors. In adult social care and higher education, accelerating the decline in the numbers of migrants could create, rather than solve, problems for the government.

The government argues there is a need to move away from the reliance on migrant workers in the UK’s adult social care sector. It has announced the closure of a visa route to new applications.

But in its new white paper laying out its policy changes, the government acknowledges that following the tightening of the health and care worker visa route (particularly in terms of bringing dependants to the UK) the number of these visas granted for both main applicants and dependants fell by 68% in 2024 compared to the previous year. This means that, even before any new restrictions, fewer workers were arriving to plug the staffing shortages in the sector.

Keir Starmer’s government rightly points out that there...

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