United Kingdom will announce changes to its legal immigration system on Monday after a record number of arrivals in 2022 put pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to act before an election due next year.
High levels of legal immigration have dominated the British political landscape for more than a decade and Sunak had promised to impose greater control after lawmakers from his Conservative Party criticized his management. He is also trying to send those who arrive illegally to live in Rwanda.
Sunak’s spokesman said he believes net migration needs to be reduced “significantly”.
This could lead to new disputes with employers, who have had difficulty recruiting workers in recent years due to persistent labor shortages in the British labor market and the end of free movement from the European Union following the exit of UK from the block.
Home Secretary James Cleverly will make a statement to Parliament on Monday outlining further measures to reduce legal immigration and “end abuse of the system”, the spokesman said.
Annual net immigration to the UK hit a record 745,000 people last year and has remained at high levels since, data showed last month.
“We believe the numbers are too high, they need to be reduced significantly and in the short term,” Sunak’s spokesman said. “The evidence we have is that some of the people coming in, particularly the dependents, are not actively contributing to the workforce in any substantive way.”
These comments are likely to alarm business owners, who have had to adapt to Brexit. In October, the government’s independent immigration adviser recommended removing one of the main ways for companies to hire migrant workers in sectors where there are serious staff shortages.
Source: Gestion
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