Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled a sweeping immigration overhaul, declaring an end to what he calls a “squalid chapter” in British politics. The Labour leader has pledged to “take back control of our borders,” introducing tighter rules on who can live, work, and settle in the UK.
“We will create a migration system that is controlled, selective, and fair,” Starmer said while launching the 2025 Immigration White Paper. “A clean break with the past that links access to visas directly to investment in homegrown skills… so settlement becomes a privilege that is earned, not a right.”
This is far from the first time a UK government has vowed to curb migration. Over the past 15 years, successive administrations have set ambitious targets — including the Conservative pledge in 2010 to reduce net migration to the "tens of thousands." Yet the numbers have remained persistently high. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), net migration peaked at a record 906,000 in the year ending June 2023, and although it fell to 728,000 by June 2024, it remains well above historical norms.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projects a further decline to around 315,000 by the end of the current Parliament — still higher than most years over the last decade.
Ravishaan Rahel Muthiah, Director of Communications for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said, “This government claims it wants to ‘take back control’- but what it’s really doing is taking away compassion. By scrapping care worker visas and doubling the wait for settlement, they are punishing the very people who care for our sick and elderly.
“These aren’t policies of control, they’re acts of cruelty- driven not by public need, but by political calculation. Migrants didn’t break the NHS, or cause the housing crisis. They hold this country together. To scapegoat them is not only dishonest - it’s dangerous. We need leadership that builds bridges, not headlines that divide us.”
Will the plan to back the employment of British nationals work?
While Keir Starmer backs his immigration plan with data, it is important to ask: will his proposals actually work in practice? The Prime Minister wants employers to focus their time and resources on upskilling British nationals — a reasonable ambition. However, it is migrants who have long formed the backbone of the NHS and the social care sector.
The vast majority of migrants come to the UK for study or work. And many of the work visas have been for people coming to do jobs in health and social care.
When stricter visa rules were previously introduced, the number of migrant workers declined, and both the care and housing sectors openly warned that they would struggle without the support of immigrant labour. The NHS, already under severe strain, has seen its services deteriorate. Many nurses and doctors are reconsidering their decision to make the UK their home, particularly as it becomes increasingly difficult for their dependents to settle in the country.
The question is: if British workers could already fill these critical roles and rescue these struggling services, wouldn’t that solution have materialised by now?
The simple answer is that main barrier to recruitment in social care has been the level of pay, which is currently too low to attract sufficient numbers of British workers. They will not be as easy to exploit.
The GMB Union has already approached the Department for Health and Social Care to put across this point. Will Dalton, GMB National Officer, said, “Scrapping this visa will be deeply damaging – potentially catastrophic for our beleaguered care system. The whole sector is utterly reliant on migrant workers – yet we still have more than 130,000 vacancies across the country.
“Care work is difficult, often dangerous yet very badly paid.
“GMB is working with the Government on Fair Pay Agreements in care, which are desperately needed to give these highly skilled professionals the wage rise they deserve.
“But there is absolutely no chance these will in in place in time to fill the void these new visa restrictions will create.”
On the other hand, a spokesperson for Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England, said, "We acknowledge and value the work that care workers from abroad bring to our social care workforce and remain concerned about the fragility of the adult social care sector given the cumulative impact of recent changes. Workforce issues remain the most significant area of concern across the sector.
“We must all remain focussed on the continuity of care for people who draw on support from social care. We are in discussion with DHSC to understand the wider implications of these changes and future solutions for managing the health and social care workforce and the vacancy rate.”
A risk to universities’ future
International students have also been a significant contributor to net migration figures, but they are equally vital to the financial health of UK universities. A sharp reduction in overseas student numbers could have serious consequences for higher education institutions, many of which are already facing financial strain.
The government has proposed stricter monitoring of how universities recruit international students and wants to shorten the period graduates can remain in the UK to find work; reducing it from 2–3 years to just 18 months.
Universities UK, representing 141 institutions, has urged the government to “think carefully” about the implications of these Alternatively, the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK (NISAU) has welcomed the Government’s decision to retain the Graduate Route but also firmly put forward that International students, who fund their own education, power innovation in universities, sustain local economies, and build enduring bilateral ties between the UK and countries around the world, should be celebrated.
“They should not be treated through the same policy lens as other forms of migration. Doing so risks undermining one of the UK’s most globally admired assets: its higher education sector”, NISAU said in a statement.
The organisation has strongly demanded international students must be taken out of the net migration targets for purposes of robust policymaking.
Rosalind Gill, Head of Policy at National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) also commented, stating, “further restrictions on Graduate Visas, and a new international student levy, will jeopardise the sustainability and global connectivity of UK universities. International students are significant contributors to the UK, fuelling research, innovation, and global partnerships. The Bill’s curbs will diminish our competitiveness in the global education market, undermining the vital contributions that universities make to both the economy and national prosperity.”
Key highlights of the Immigration White Paper
- A significant reduction in net migration to "sustainable levels" is a central goal of the policy.
- Care worker visas have been scrapped, with employers urged to prioritise the hiring and training of British workers over reliance on migrant labour.
- Stricter requirements for salary thresholds and qualifications have been introduced for certain job categories.
- The qualifying period for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) has been doubled from five to ten years, making it harder for migrants to gain permanent residency.
- The government proposes to shorten the post-study work visa for international students from 2–3 years to just 18 months.
- Increased scrutiny is planned on how universities recruit international students.
- A potential levy on international students is under consideration to offset the perceived strain on public services.
- The white paper acknowledges the NHS and social care sector’s dependence on migrant workers, but frames reform as necessary for long-term sustainability.
