On 12 May, the Government released its long-awaited Immigration Whitepaper, promising to “significantly cut back net migration” and introduce reforms aimed at regaining public trust in the immigration system. The document represents the government’s clearest departure yet in both tone and policy from its Conservative predecessors, reflecting Labour’s pledge to overhaul what it has consistently described as a “chaotic” and “uncontrolled” system.
But how exactly does the Whitepaper differ from the Conservatives’ controversial and ultimately unsuccessful Rwanda scheme – and can it really reduce net migration without compromising the UK’s ability to attract and retain top international talent?
An “island of strangers”: What is driving the government’s immigration tough talk?
During his press conference unveiling the Immigration Whitepaper, Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that Britain risked becoming an “island of strangers” if immigration remained unchecked. This phrase, intended to underscore the importance of integration and social cohesion, has ignited significant debate across the political spectrum.
Critics, including several Labour MPs and commentators, have compared Starmer’s language to that of Enoch Powell’s infamous 1968 “Rivers of Blood” speech, which warned of communities becoming “strangers in their own country.”
Labour backbencher Zarah Sultana and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell expressed concern that such rhetoric could echo divisive sentiments from the past. London Mayor Sadiq Khan also refrained from using similar terminology, emphasising the need for inclusive discourse.
The controversy around Starmer’s comments highlights the heightened sensitivity surrounding immigration discourse in the UK, particularly in a context where net immigration surged to unprecedented levels. Net immigration reached record highs in recent years, peaking at 906,000 in the year to June 2023 before declining slightly to 728,000 in 2024.
These numbers reflect long-term arrivals -those staying 12 months or more – including foreign workers, international students, asylum seekers, family members joining relatives, and returning British citizens.
But what is behind Britain’s record numbers of immigration?
The shift began with the post-Brexit immigration system, which opened up new routes for non-EU nationals. Policies widened access through the expansion of care worker visas and by adopting broader definitions of what qualifies as “skilled work.”
At the same time, the UK saw a sharp increase in international students and their dependents, further boosting the numbers. Temporary humanitarian pathways for people fleeing crises in Ukraine, Hong Kong, and Afghanistan also played a significant role. On top of these factors, more immigrants have been choosing to remain in the UK for longer periods, contributing to the sustained high net immigration.
The Labour government views this trend as both a political and economic challenge. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has described the current levels of net immigration as “unsustainable,” placing the blame on the previous government for enabling employers and universities to become overly reliant on foreign recruitment.
The issue has become increasingly politicised, especially following Labour’s losses in recent local elections, where Reform UK capitalized on voter concerns by taking a hard line on immigration. With public anxiety mounting over housing shortages, healthcare access, and social cohesion, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to do what he claims the Conservatives failed to accomplish in over a decade: Restore control over the UK’s borders.
Raising the bar for skilled workers
One of the biggest shifts comes in the form of reforming the way skilled worker visas are awarded – and who qualifies for them. The rules for bringing in overseas workers are getting significantly tougher – if companies want to hire from abroad, they will have to prove it is necessary, and that they’ve tried hiring at home first.
The previous Conservative approach greatly expanded “skilled” visas to jobs requiring only A-level qualifications and relatively modest salaries. By early 2024, nearly 60 per cent of so-called skilled worker visas were actually going to jobs below graduate level (RQF 6) – the new plan sharply “raises the bar” for foreign workers.
In future, only graduate-level roles will qualify for skilled visas, and salary thresholds will also rise across the board. Details are to be set after expert review, but the change is expected to remove roughly 180 occupations from visa eligibility.
At the same time, ministers plan to eliminate loopholes and sweeteners that made hiring from abroad easier than training at home – including the removal of the 20 per cent salary discount for jobs on the Shortage Occupation List (which effectively lowers salary requirement for certain roles).
The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) – a fee employers pay per foreign worker hired – will jump 32 per cent (its first increase since 2017), raising costs for companies that rely on imported labour. Sectors with chronic overseas recruitment will be pressed to boost local apprenticeships and wages, or face intervention by a new Labour Market Advisory body.
One of the most headline-grabbing moves is the plan to end overseas recruitment of care workers. During the past few years, amid staffing crises, the UK issued work visas to tens of thousands of care staff – over 105,000 care worker visas in 2022-23 alone – often in lower-paid roles. Citing “significant concerns over abuse and exploitation” in the adult social care visa route, the government will “close social care visas to new applications from abroad.”
In other words, care homes and agencies will be barred from sponsoring new care workers from overseas (after a transition period for those already here). Instead, ministers say, care providers should improve pay and conditions to attract UK staff.
This marks a sharp departure from the previous approach of plugging gaps with foreign labor. Other skilled visa tweaks target perceived points of misuse. For instance, dependants accompanying foreign workers will face new limits – those in lower-paid roles won’t be allowed to bring family at all, and anyone who does will need to earn above a higher threshold.
While some welcomed Labour’s focus on domestic workforce development, many in the care sector warned of serious disruption. Care England described the proposals as a “crushing blow for an already fragile sector”. Unison’s general secretary stated: “The NHS and the care sector would have collapsed long ago without the thousands of workers who’ve come to the UK from overseas.” She also urged ministers to stop labelling care work as “low-skilled” and called for progress on fair pay agreements.
In 2023, over 58,000 international care workers entered the UK under skilled worker visas, constituting nearly half of the new additions to the social care workforce.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the policy on the BBC, asserting that employers should focus on recruiting from the existing pool of care workers already present in the UK, including those who arrived on visas but have yet to be placed in roles.
“They can also extend existing visas. They could recruit as well from people who are on other visas who are already here,” she stated. “But we do think it’s time to end that care worker recruitment.”
International students and post-study visas
International students have become another major component of net immigration – and political scrutiny. Student visas and their dependents accounted for a significant chunk of the immigration surge between 2021 and 2023. At the peak, over 143,000 dependents joined students in the UK – up from just 16,000 in 2019. Recent changes have already restricted this, bringing the figure down to around 22,000 in 2024.
The White Paper takes a careful but firm line. The popular Graduate Route – which allows international students to stay and work after graduation – will be retained, but its duration will be reduced from two years to 18 months. The government argues this still provides time for graduates to find jobs, but discourages long-term stay without contribution.
More controversially, the paper proposes a new 6 per cent levy on universities’ international student fee income, with the proceeds reinvested into domestic skills training. The aim is to reduce over-reliance on overseas students, especially at lower-ranked institutions, which saw a 49 per cent increase in visas between 2021 and 2023.
Universities UK (UUK), the sector’s main body, responded cautiously. In a recent statement, UUK said it welcomed the retention of the Graduate Route and acknowledged the need for “sustainable” international recruitment. However, it warned that the levy could impact the UK’s global competitiveness. “International students bring enormous social and economic benefits to the UK, while helping fund university courses for British students,” said UUK chief executive Vivienne Stern.
For now, the government says it is “exploring” the levy with more detail expected in the autumn Budget.
Who gets to stay? The new tests for integration and citizenship
Perhaps the most sweeping changes in the white paper come in the rules for who can settle permanently in the UK and eventually become a British citizen. The philosophy is one of “earned citizenship”: Making long-term settlement less of an automatic entitlement and more conditional on integration into UK society. As the document starkly puts it, “citizenship in the UK is a privilege and not a right”, and the government says it “does not want to offer” that privilege to those who “have not demonstrated” they respect the rules.
In practice, the qualifying period for settlement (permanent residence) will double from 5 years to 10 years for most immigrants.
Under current rules, many work visa holders, for example, can apply for “indefinite leave to remain” after five years, and citizenship after six. The new policy resets that timeline: A decade of lawful residence will be the standard before someone can become settled, significantly lengthening the journey to citizenship. However, crucially, there’s an “earned” fast-track built in. Those who make especially strong contributions to the UK economy or society will have “the opportunity to reduce the qualifying period” for settlement and citizenship.
This echoes the white paper’s broader theme of rewarding contribution – a nod to public sentiment that immigrants should “earn” their place. Family members of Britons will still have a shorter 5-year path to settlement as now, and humanitarian cases or vulnerable groups will retain protections.
Language and cultural integration tests are also being toughened. Currently, skilled workers must speak English at an intermediate level (B1), and new rules have recently required even overseas students on degree courses to demonstrate English ability. Now, even adult dependents of immigrants – for example, a worker’s spouse or a student’s husband or wife – will be required to prove basic English (A1) before coming, aligning with the existing requirement for spouses of UK citizens.
The emphasis on learning English reflects a political calculus as well as a principled stance: Polls show the public strongly values immigrants learning English. Starmer has echoed that, saying Britain is welcoming, “but the public expect that people who come here to learn the language and integrate.”
The backdrop to these changes is the reality that the huge inflows of recent years would translate into a surge of people eligible for settlement and citizenship under the old rules. Indeed, the Home Office notes that given “the extremely high level of net immigration between 2019 and 2024,” many more people would soon qualify to stay permanently if nothing changed.
Labour hopes to reassure the public that future Britons-by-choice will be fully invested in the country, and that the era of “easy” immigration leading to automatic citizenship is over. Whether these moves genuinely strengthen integration or simply make life harder for immigrants will be a subject of debate.
But politically, the message is clear: High immigration might be a reality of Britain’s global future, but those numbers must be managed in a way that voters feel immigration is under control, fair, and serving the national interest.
What’s next?
While the Immigration Whitepaper sets out a bold new direction for the UK’s immigration system, it is not yet law – but rather a policy document to outline its proposed reforms and the reasoning behind them.
Now that the whitepaper has been published, the process moves into its next phase. Several of the proposals, such as raising the skilled worker salary threshold or introducing new settlement timelines, will require changes to existing immigration rules or new secondary legislation.
These changes must go through formal scrutiny in Parliament, and some may face challenges or amendments during that process.
In parallel, the government will launch consultations with key stakeholders, including employers, universities, care providers, and immigration experts.
These discussions are expected to influence the final shape of the policies, especially those with significant economic or social consequences. Complex measures, like the proposed 6 per cent levy on international student fees, will likely take longer to implement and may be revised before they are brought into force.
Featured image via Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street on Flickr.
