Businesses grapple with more far-reaching immigration changes

Headlines for employers include plans to raise the skills and salary thresholds required for Skilled Worker visas, increase the immigration skills charge and tighten the shortage occupation list (including ending the recruitment of care workers from overseas).

However, the Government’s proposals could not be described as wholly anti-immigration. Changes to make it easier to recruit the most highly skilled workers are also being planned. And just a week after the Government published the White Paper, it announced plans for an EU/UK youth mobility scheme at its first post-Brexit summit with the EU.

The White Paper also needs to be considered in the light of recently published immigration statistics from the ONS. These show that net migration (ie immigration less emigration) fell by almost 50 per cent in the year to December 2024.

There are complex factors behind the change, but many believe that much of the fall is due to the tightening of the immigration rules the previous Government introduced last year. However, latest annual net migration figure (well over 400,000) is still high by historic standards and the Government is clearly committed to reducing it further.

Some proposals in the White Paper could be introduced relatively quickly, while others will require primary legislation. Overall, these measures signal a clear intention to restrict overseas recruitment unless economically essential, while boosting local recruitment through investing more in training. It will be a hard balance to strike, and businesses will need to find a way to adapt.

For more information about the White Paper, see the blog at:

https://www.mills-reeve.com/blogs/employment/may-2025/immigration-white-paper-published/