Sunak calls for limiting legal migration as winning campaign policy

The Prime Minister previously introduced tougher rules allowing migrants to bring their families with them. Photo: Yui Mok/PA

Rishi Sunak has been urged to make a crackdown on legal migration a key part of his policy change plans.

The Home Office has put forward plans to ban low-skilled foreign care workers from bringing family members to country. UK.

Ministers want to tighten rules for the health and care worker visa, which allows migrants to move to the UK to work in social care and take dependents with them.

There are growing concerns at the Home Office about the abuse of the visa route, concerns that could be revealed through leaked documents seen by The Telegraph.

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, and Robert Jenrick, the Immigration Secretary, want to take action to tackle the surge in legal migration and are calling on Downing Street to do so.

But the Prime Minister is placing greater emphasis on tackling illegal migration . migration in small boat crisis, knowing foreign workers can help fulfill his promise to boost the economy.

Possible date for tougher rules

Home Office data points to November 2023, when new net migration statistics will be published. as a possible announcement date for tougher legal migration rules.

Earlier in 2023, it was revealed that annual net migration had reached 606,000, six times David Cameron's pledge to reduce the figure below 100,000.

< p>Home Office insiders predict the next net migration figure will fall slightly as refugees from Ukraine and Hong Kong arrive, but there could still be around half a million.

Home Office colleagues are calling on Mr Sunak to make legal migration the dividing line with Labor at the next election after the Prime Minister delayed or weakened a series of net zero steps.

Visas for health workers and care in August 2020, but more were issued than originally expected.

The domestic government estimated that around 8,000 visas would be issued, but instead there were more than 50,000, with each person moving to the UK on average together with another dependent. .

The Prime Minister had previously introduced tougher rules on how many dependents such as relatives could be brought with them by migrants.

Earlier in 2023, the Home Office announced that all international students, except those Those undertaking postgraduate studies will be prohibited from bringing family members to the UK.

Doctors, nurses and care professionals

Government figures involved in the proposals believe a similar change for those on a health and care worker visa would be warranted.

The visa allows doctors, nurses and adult social care professionals to receive an offer of work from an approved employer, move to the UK.< /p>

Visa recipients can take their partner and children with them if they meet certain criteria.

If the early stage plans had gone ahead, it would have meant that low-skilled people would be barred from taking anyone with them, affecting many but not all applicants.

The plan could face criticism from the sector Social Security, which has long suffered from a labor shortage. Tighter rules could make it even more difficult to fill vacancies.

But leaked documents show dozens of social care providers have had their licenses suspended for using unqualified care workers.

In one newspaper seen by The Telegraph, Home Office officials expressed concern that “with the addition of health and care visa routes for healthcare workers, this route is more easily exploited and abused by illegal sponsors than other routes for visas.”

Since carers were added to the UK's shortfall list, UK Visas and Immigration have investigated 261 adult social care providers.

This has led to the suspension of 109 sponsorship licences, Including 48 providers were given advisory notices and 39 had their licenses completely revoked.

A round table meeting was held in July to discuss the crisis, attended by representatives from the Home Office, UKVI, the Department of Health and the guardianship authorities .

Delegates heard concerns that many of the new care workers were not fully trained in social care, potentially putting older people at risk.

There are growing concerns about continuity of care for older people as many are suddenly lose their opportunities. caregiver when the license is revoked.

A document summarizing what was discussed at the roundtable said: «Home Office officials have raised serious concerns about the care visa route itself — and abuses by non-care providers.» < /p>

“This is partly because care workers and older care workers are not required to have formal qualifications and require a lower level of English to be employed in the UK, which widens the range of people eligible for this visa.”

A separate information document states that a number of sponsors were removed from the register between June and August 2022 during the so-called “Operation Rassant”.

“Although the Op Rassant investigation has now reached its conclusion, subsequent evidence makes it clear that the cases included in the operation are by no means isolated incidents,” the document said.

“ Since then, other sponsors, homes and care settings have been identified as failing in certain areas — either through inaction or neglect — and similar problems of non-compliance have been discovered.»

Significant succession concerns

Among the main concerns were that candidates were “not suitable for the role, had no experience of similar work and/or had limited knowledge prior to coming to the UK of what their employment entailed.”< /p>

“There are serious concerns about continuity of care when providers' licenses are revoked,” it said. “This has huge consequences for service users when care packages cannot be met.”

Supporters of the plan argue that a balance needs to be struck between supporting the industry and reducing overall net migration.

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Tory MPs have previously called for a similar rule change, including from the New Conservatives, a group of Tory MPs first elected after the Brexit referendum in 2016.

The group has advocated for tougher visas for health workers and care. has been managing one of its core policy demands since it was launched back in May 2023.

On Sunday evening, a government spokesman said: “We strongly condemn the provision of jobs to health and care worker visa holders under false pretenses.”

“The government does not tolerate illegal activity in the labor market, and any allegations of illegal employment practices will be thoroughly investigated. Persons found to be engaged in illegal activities may face prosecution and/or deletion from the sponsor register.»