Immigration Cap

Secure Future

Migration is coming down and I have supported all the measures to stop illegal migration, with the Rwanda plan now in law and the number of small boat crossings down 36% last year. I know we need to go further which is why I welcome the policy of implementing an annual cap on immigration so that we fully control the number of people who enter into our country. 

Rebecca Harris

The Conservatives have announced a clear plan to implement a cap on immigration, to bring immigration down to sustainable levels.

We have rightly supported those fleeing the war in Ukraine and China’s actions in Hong Kong which pushed up immigration levels. But we know net migration is still too high. That is why we have a clear plan to bring net migration down to sustainable levels by implementing a legal cap on immigration, which falls every year of the next Parliament. Under our plan, Ministers will decide on a new cap for migration, based on what the British economy needs, this will then be subject to a vote in Parliament – giving MPs direct control of immigration levels for the first time. 

Only Rishi Sunak has a clear plan to reduce levels of migration by taking bold action to cut numbers every year, giving families the security that they will always be able to access the public services they deserve. 

 

THE PLAN - NEW IMMIGRATION CAP:

Implement a legal cap on migration, ensuring overall migration falls to sustainable levels. We will implement an annual legal cap on the number of visas that can be granted to those coming to the UK on work or family routes, considering public services and the economy. Temporary work routes such as Seasonal Agricultural Workers would not fall within the cap as these are very short-term visas. Students will also not fall within the cap.

We will commission the Migration Advisory Committee to make an annual recommendation to the Government, based on the costs and benefits of migration, on the level of the immigration cap. The Government will then consider the Committee’s recommendation before making a final proposal.

An annual vote will then be brought to Parliament to set the immigration cap, giving Parliament a direct role in setting immigration levels for the first time.

 

INTRODUCE A MIGRANT HEALTH CHECK:

We all pay for the NHS throughout our working lives through our taxes and it is only fair that overseas workers and students make the right contribution to its long-term sustainability. That is why we introduced the Immigration Health Surcharge in 2015 and almost doubled it earlier this year.

We will now go further, ensuring migrants pay for any treatment they receive by introducing a new mandatory health check for those coming to the UK for more than 6 months and requiring those who fail the test to pay an additional health fee before they come to the UK to cover the cost of their conditions to the NHS.

 

INCREASING VISA FEES BY 25%:

  • We will raise visa fees by a further 25%, ensuing people who come to the UK contribute to fund public services.
  • We will remove the discount for overseas students paying the Immigration Health Surcharge. Those coming to the UK for more than 6 months must pay the annual Immigration Health Surcharge to fund the costs of their healthcare to the NHS. Students and their dependents currently pay a discounted fee. We will scrap the discount, asking students to pay the standard surcharge of £1,035.
  • We will introduce new laws to use the income for public services impacted by migration. We will legislate to ensure that the additional revenues raised can be used for services other than health, to increase the maximum fees chargeable on other routes and make sure they can be used to pay for general public services rather than having to be used solely to fund the migration and borders system.

 

SUCCESS IN REDUCING MIGRATION:

  • We have brought net migration down by 10% last year.
  • The number of visa applications across skilled worker, health and care and sponsored study has fallen by 30%.
  • The number of student dependents applying for visas is down by almost 80%.
  • Driving down the number of health and care visa applications by 77% this year.
  • Changing the rules for international students and dependents as of 2024, helping to reduce net migration by an estimated 140,000.

 

I have been supporting the Government’s new immigration measures that would have meant 300,000 fewer people would have been eligible to come to the UK last year.

  • To end the abuse of the Health and Care Visa, which has seen 120,000 dependents arrive in this country who are not in work but able to access our public services, the Government has banned overseas care workers from bringing their family dependants and is also now requiring social care firms to be CQC-registered to sponsor visa applications.
  • The Government has increased the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers by 48% from the current level of £26,200 up to £38,700, the median full-time wage for equivalent jobs.
  • We have scrapped the 20% salary discount that migrants were able to earn in occupations where we have a shortage of workers, ending the undercutting of our own British workers. The Shortage Occupation List is being replaced with an Immigration Salary List, which will change the salary thresholds in place for these roles.
  • For those wishing to enter through family visas, the minimum salary requirement has increased from £18.600 to £29,000 and will increase to £38,700 by Spring 2025.
  • The Immigration Health Surcharge is increasing by 66% from £624 to £1,035 per year per adult and from £470 to £776 per year per child to allow access to our NHS services and visa application fees have also risen by at least 15%.
  • Those entering on student visas will not be able to bring family members into the country, a change which will see 100,000 fewer people enter the country.

We know we need to go further – we need to have control of numbers and we need to give people confidence they will come down significantly, which is why I am backing all of these reforms.

 

Labour?

Labour show they have no plans to get immigration under control at all. They would relax immigration controls, opening our borders to 250,000 more migrants a year. Keir Starmer believes all immigration law is racist, which is why he does not have a plan to strengthen our borders. What’s worse, Labour would stop illegal migrants from being deported on flights to Rwanda, making the UK a magnet to every illegal migrant in the EU.