Blitz Bureau
The UK Government is planning to tighten visa rules for hiring foreign IT, telecom and engineering professionals. This is aimed at bringing down high levels of migration. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review these sectors’ reliance on skilled worker visas.
Many Indian IT and engineering professionals come to work in these sectors every year. Changes could include raising the minimum salary threshold in these sectors or restrictions based on different regions of Britain.
Global recruitment
In a letter to the MAC Chair on August 7, Cooper said there was need to understand why certain key occupations depend heavily on international recruitment. She specifically pointed to information technology and telecommunications professionals, as well as engineering professionals, as sectors that have been among the top users of work visas. The Home Secretary said that while the Government appreciates the contributions of workers from around the world, “but the system needs to be managed and controlled”. Cooper said the current high levels of international recruitment are unsustainable and reflect ongoing skills shortages in the country. She said the Government aims to reduce migration by aligning immigration with skills policy to create a fairer and more coherent approach to the labour market.
National interest hit
“The system as it exists is not operating in the national interest. This Government will deliver a fair, coherent, more joined up approach to the labour market by linking immigration with skills policy,” she added. However, according to Home Office statistics, there has been a significant decline in visa applications from students and skilled workers.
The data shows that visa applications for main applicants and their dependents in key UK visa categories – Skilled Worker, Health and Care, and Study – fell by 35 per cent, or 1,87,900, in the first seven months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
