The British government has announced tough new immigration rules that will reduce the number of people who can move to the UK each year. Learn more about the planned changes in the UK's migration policy

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Great Britain attracts expats with a stable economy, high standard of living and decent wages. Foreigners make up about 15% of the total population of the country.

However, in recent years, the British Government has been actively engaged in reducing the number of expats moving to the country. In particular, the other day Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced tough new rules that will reduce net migration by 300,000 per year.

What will change for expats in the UK? Let's talk further.

How many foreigners come to the UK?

Great Britain is one of the top countries with the largest number of foreign residents. According to experts' estimates, about 1.18 million foreigners have moved to the United Kingdom since 2019, most of them legally (only 508,000 people entered illegally).

In 2022, net migration reached 745,000 people, and already in the first 6 months of 2023, a record 672,000 expats arrived in the United Kingdom, moreover, for more than 5 years, state policy has been aimed at reducing the number of foreigners, in particular, the Tory Manifesto back in In 2019, he promised to reduce the number of visitors to below 250,000 per year.

Most of the new residents are citizens of non-EU countries. In particular, representatives of India (253,000 people per year), Turkey, Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa predominate. Also, many Poles, Germans and Italians live in the country.

Students make up 39% of all arrivals from non-EU countries, and those who received work visas make up 33%.

Planned changes in the migration policy of Great Britain

Rishi Sunak released a plan to reduce net migration, which consists of 5 points:

1. Expat Family Restrictions: Staff caring for the sick and elderly will be prohibited from transporting their family members from abroad.

2. Raising the minimum wage threshold: skilled workers will have to earn 48% more, namely at least GBP 38,700 per year (previously GBP 26,200).

However, this requirement does not apply to workers in the field of health care and social protection.

3. It is forbidden to hire workers with wages below the established rate: the rules that allow company managers to hire foreign employees of scarce professions at 20% below the established rate will be abolished. The "List of specialists who are missing" itself will also be canceled.

4. Increased requirements for moving with a family: Moving on a family visa now requires a sponsor earning over GBP 38,700. This figure has not been raised since 2012 and until now it was sufficient to earn over GBP 18,600 per year. That is, the minimum threshold will be doubled.

5. Stricter requirements for graduates: the migration route of graduates of British universities will be revised. Until now, young specialists have the right to stay in the country for two years after graduating from university.

We will remind you that we talked about changes in the visa requirements of Great Britain for foreign students here.

Government officials say the measures would have resulted in 300,000 people being refused entry to the UK last year.

There will also be a further increase in the Immigration Health Care Levy, which is used to pay for migrants' NHS treatment, from GBP 624 to GBP 1,035, a 66% increase.

Taking into account the dynamic changes in the immigration policy of Great Britain, when planning to move abroad, you should be careful and prepare the necessary list of documents in detail.


Photo: AdobeStock

Igor Usyk - Head of Legal Department at Visit World

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