Labour scraps fast routes to settlement, curbs care visas, and ups English requirements in migration reset

Labour has unveiled its most dramatic immigration shake-up in decades, slamming the brakes on legal migration and confronting employers long reliant on low-paid overseas workers. With Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party surging in the polls and the Conservatives scrambling for direction in opposition, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is gambling that tough border control can restore public faith and blunt the populist tide.

Gone is the five-year pathway to settlement. Under Labour’s draft reforms, migrants will now need ten years to qualify – unless they work in government-favoured sectors like healthcare, artificial intelligence, or engineering. Even spouses and adult dependents must pass tougher English-language tests before entering the UK.

The message from Downing Street is clear: immigration must now “reward contribution”. A new system, officials say, will prioritise civic participation, higher earnings, and integration over bulk recruitment from abroad. That means fewer care visas, fewer dependents for overseas students, and no visas for roles not labelled “strategic”.

The overhaul marks a sharp turn from Labour’s historic stance. There are no flashy schemes like the Conservatives’ failed Rwanda plan, but the new strategy tears up the “free-market migration” model. Employers must now prove investment in British workers before seeking overseas hires.

Announcing the changes, Starmer described the move as “controlled, selective and fair”. But while the leadership talks of balancing control with compassion, critics warn the latter is missing. The government’s policy paper offers no new safe routes for refugees and no additional protections for asylum seekers – a decision already drawing fire from campaigners and Labour MPs in diverse constituencies.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is leading the charge with a data-driven approach. Deportations of foreign nationals convicted of any offence – not just serious crimes – have already increased. A new digital status system will help monitor overstaying and track visa compliance.

Yet some measures go further than expected. English-language rules will now apply to spouses and other adult dependents, a move ministers claim will aid integration and reduce exploitation. Critics say it risks splitting families and penalising working-class migrants.

Estimates suggest these changes could reduce net migration by 50,000 to 70,000 annually. But with net migration still forecast to remain above half a million by 2028, Labour faces the same challenge that haunted the Tories: meeting public expectations in a system under strain.

Inside Labour, tensions are rising. MPS in urban, multicultural areas fear a voter backlash. Cuts to care worker visas risk deepening an already critical staffing crisis, with trade union Unison and Care England warning that vulnerable patients will pay the price.

Conversely, backbenchers in marginal and post-industrial constituencies are urging Starmer to go even further, convinced that Reform UK’s rise reflects voters’ fury over years of broken promises.

The Conservatives, desperate to reclaim the immigration narrative, unveiled their own bill last week. It includes powers to ignore the Human Rights Act in asylum cases and an annual cap on visas. But critics, even on the right, say it lacks teeth. “A grab-bag of recycled slogans,” one former Tory adviser called it. “It makes no difference if you can’t deport anyone,” said another.

Farage wasted no time taking credit. “The Home Office admits migration will still top half a million by 2028,” he told The Guardian. “Tinkering won’t cut it. It’s about who comes in – and whether they integrate.”

Starmer is betting his slower, stricter plan will outlast the soundbites. But with vital services still reliant on migrants, families set for longer waits to settle, and no expansion of refugee protections, Labour’s new path could alienate the very voters it aims to reassure.

With Reform climbing, the Tories regrouping, and Labour torn between control and compassion, the true test of this immigration reset begins now.

BBC

Labour is aiming to reverse a 25-year trend of rising legal migration, with a strategy focused on cutting low-skilled migration while prioritising high-skilled, high-earning migrants. Since 1994, net migration to the UK has consistently remained positive, peaking at 906,000 in the year to June 2023 and slightly falling to 728,000 in 2024. Despite post-Brexit controls and a points-based visa system, migration has continued to exceed expectations. Labour’s upcoming immigration White Paper—months in the making—proposes an immediate cut of 50,000 care and low-skilled workers, and faster routes to permanent residency for top earners. These changes form part of Labour’s wider agenda centred on secure borders, the NHS, and economic wellbeing. The plan aims to show tangible results before the next general election, expected in 2028 or 2029. Ministers hope the reforms will satisfy public demand for reduced migration without damaging the economy. A formal immigration bill will follow in the next King’s Speech. Illegal immigration reforms will also be announced soon.

SKY NEWS

Labour’s sharp turn on legal migration reflects the rising electoral threat from Reform UK and public anxiety about immigration. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to unveil a white paper slashing visa numbers, especially for low-skilled roles like care workers, while linking reduced overseas recruitment to efforts to re-employ the UK’s economically inactive. The plan includes removing 180 occupations from the shortage list and restricting skilled worker visas to degree-holders. Labour hopes this will cut 50,000 visas this year and win back control-focused voters. However, the decision to scrap the care visa is alarming a sector already under pressure. Critics like Care England call the move “crushing,” while Tories and Reform UK accuse Labour of offering only cosmetic reform. Cooper dismisses arbitrary targets but wants net migration “substantially” below 500,000. Though the policy may appeal to swing voters, it risks exacerbating staff shortages, weakening the economy, and shifting Labour uncomfortably rightward, raising the question of whether political gain justifies economic harm.