‘We asked for workers and people came’: 5 points on the 5-point immigration plan

On Monday 4th December, the UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly, announced a new 5-point plan to reduce net migration:

1. Care workers will not be allowed to bring any dependents to the UK. And the NHS surcharge for foreign workers will increase from £624 to £1,035.

2. The minimum salary for skilled overseas workers will increase from £26,200 to £38,700.

3. The current 20% salary discount for Shortage Occupation List (SOL) jobs will end.

4. The minimum income requirement for a spouse or family visa will increase from £18,600 to £38,700.

5. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will carry out a full review of the graduate visa route.

Here are some of my observations:

Less attractive to top talent - as well as the financial disincentives, the well-worn trope of ‘abuse’ of the immigration system reinforces the demonisation and criminalisation of migrants. The terminology of the policy announcement had a general air of contempt, explicitly claiming abuse of the immigration rules, when really, people have simply been exercising their rights and entitlements under UK law. Furthermore, restrictions on dependents frame foreign workers as commodities rather than human beings with normal human relationships. This reinforces the rampant dehumanisation present throughout UK immigration policy. All of which makes the UK a less welcoming and therefore less appealing destination for international workers and students (together with their skills and money). And this is before we even consider the impact of the cost of living crisis and Brexit.

Disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities - as with many aspects of restrictive immigration measures, ethnic minorities will be disproportionately affected, given that most migrants are from ethnic minorities. Furthermore, the term ‘migrants’ is increasingly a proxy for ‘ethnic minorities’, another indicator that such ‘urgent measures’ actually form part of a dog-whistle approach to policy announcements, designed to spark a moral panic for political gain. More than doubling the minimum family visa income means that many more mixed-nationality British families will be unable to afford to live together in the UK, with 73% of British people now "too poor to marry a foreigner".

Photo credit: Thirdman

Higher costs for UK businesses - increased visa salary requirements will lead to increased costs for UK employers, especially social care, further compounded by an increasingly urgent need for greater investment in skills for the British workforce. Not to mention the risks of higher contracted hours for migrant workers and the associated risk of employment law breaches.

Further labour shortages - irrespective of whether or not Britain can suddenly invest sufficiently in skills training for our ‘homegrown talent’, the elephant in the room is that most British people don’t want to work in social care, cleaning or fruit picking. This deep reticence from British citizens to do work which is deemed ‘beneath them’ will further exacerbate the labour shortages that led to social care being added to the Shortage Occupation List in the first place. Added to this, we have an ageing population, with a decreasing ratio of workers to pensioners.

Damage to the UK economy - if the UK becomes less attractive to top talent, more discriminatory in our immigration policy, if UK businesses incur higher costs and our workforce continues to languish with a lack of skills resulting in worsening labour shortages, then this will all naturally harm our economy. Instead, the government should initiate a more open and honest conversation about the pros and cons of migration, admitting our heavy reliance on migrant workers to ensure the country runs as we expect it to, whilst grasping the need for serious skills investment for the British workforce.