- 5/12/2025
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper today unveiled a White Paper in Parliament aimed at restoring control to Britain's immigration system.The plan follows record high net migration of over 900,000 under the previous government, which Cooper said had "quadrupled in the space of just four years".Cooper outlined five core principles guiding the reforms."Net migration must come down so the system is properly managed and controlled," she told MPs.The immigration system must also be linked to UK skills and training to prevent industries relying solely on foreign workers.Cooper announced plans to lift the threshold for skilled worker visas back to graduate level.This will remove up to 180 different jobs from the eligibility list while increasing salary thresholds.WATCH THE CLIP ABOVE FOR MORE
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00:00Madam Deputy Speaker, with your permission, I will make a statement on the government's white paper on restoring control over the immigration system.
00:09Five months ago, the figures were published that showed net migration had reached a record high of more than 900,000 under the last Conservative government,
00:21a figure that had quadrupled in the space of just four years.
00:26It was the consequence of specific government choices made from 2020 onwards, including introducing what was effectively a free market experiment on immigration,
00:36encouraging employers to recruit from abroad, loosening controls in different areas but without any requirement to tackle skills and labour shortages here at home.
00:46Choices which undermined the immigration system and the economy too.
00:52This government is making very different choices.
00:54We made clear at the time, just as we had set out in our manifesto, this government would restore order and control to the immigration system,
01:03bringing net migration substantially down but also boosting skills and training here at home.
01:10The white paper we are publishing today does exactly that and it is built on five core principles.
01:17First, that net migration must come down so the system is properly managed and controlled.
01:22Second, that the immigration system must be linked to skills and training here in the UK so that no industry is allowed to rely solely on immigration to fill its skills shortages.
01:35Third, the system must be fair and effective with clearer rules in areas like respect for family life to prevent perverse outcomes that undermine public confidence.
01:45Fourth, that the rules must be respected and enforced, including tackling illegal and irregular migration and deporting foreign criminals.
01:55And finally, that the system must support integration and community cohesion, including new rules on the ability to speak English and the contribution that people can bring to the UK.
02:07Our United Kingdom is an interconnected and outward-looking nation.
02:12Our history and our geography mean that for generations British people have travelled overseas to live and work and people have come to the UK to study, work, invest or seek refuge.
02:23And British citizens draw on heritage from all over the world and that has made us the country we are today.
02:30Through many years, our country has been strengthened by those who have come here to contribute, from doctors in our NHS, entrepreneurs founding some of our biggest businesses,
02:40to those who came through generations to work in jobs from coal mining to caring for our loved ones to serving in our armed forces.
02:48People often coming to do some of the most difficult jobs of all.
02:51And our trading nation, global, leading universities and strong historic international connections mean migration will always be part of our country's future as well as our past.
03:01But that is exactly why immigration needs to be properly controlled and managed.
03:08And it hasn't been.
03:10Overseas recruitment shot up while training in the UK was cut.
03:15Lower skilled migration soared while the proportion of UK residents in work plummeted.
03:21In 2019, 10% of skilled work visas went to non-graduate jobs.
03:28By 2024, that had risen to 60%.
03:32Employers were even given a 20% wage discount if they recruited for shortage jobs from abroad,
03:39actively discouraging them from paying the going rate or training here at home.
03:44Education institutions were allowed to substantially expand the number of overseas students without proper compliance checks.
03:51Social care providers were encouraged to recruit from abroad with no proper regulation.
03:56So we saw a serious increase in exploitation, deeply damaging for those who came to work here in good faith,
04:03and also for other workers and responsible companies who were being undercut.
04:08The rules and laws that are supposed to underpin the immigration system were too often ignored.
04:12And by 2024, returns of people with no right to be in the UK were down over a third compared to 2010.
04:21And of course, criminal gangs were allowed to build an entire smuggling industry along our borders,
04:27undermining security and creating a crisis in the asylum system.
04:32Madam Deputy Speaker, later this year, we will set out further reforms on asylum and border security,
04:37and on tackling illegal and irregular migration, building on the new counter-terrorism powers in the borders, security, asylum and immigration bill before the House this evening,
04:48because no one should be making these dangerous crossings on small boats.
04:51But this white paper sets out how we restore that control to the legal migration system,
04:58so it is sustainable, fair and works for the UK.
05:02First, we are overhauling the approach to labour market policy.
05:05So for the first time, we properly link the immigration system to skills and training here in the UK.
05:11So that where there are skills or labour shortages in the UK, immigration should not always be the answer to which employers turn.
05:20Because that long-term failure to tackle skills shortages, bring in proper workforce planning,
05:25to get UK residents back to work, or improve pay terms and conditions here at home,
05:31is bad for our economy as well as for the immigration system, because it undermines productivity and growth.
05:36So we will lift the threshold for skilled worker visas back to graduate level and above,
05:42removing up to 180 different jobs from the list, increasing salary thresholds.
05:49Access to the points-based system for lower-skilled jobs will be limited to areas on a new temporary shortage list,
05:55including jobs which are critical to the industrial strategy, but access will be time-limited.
06:01There must be a domestic workforce strategy in place, and employers must be acting to increase domestic recruitment.
06:10We will expect workforce strategies to be drawn up more widely in other higher-skilled areas too,
06:15where there is over-reliance on recruitment from abroad.
06:19And to support that work, we will establish a new labour market evidence group,
06:24bringing together skills bodies from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,
06:28the Department for Work and Pensions, the Industrial Strategy Council and the Migration Advisory Committee,
06:34to gather and share evidence on shortage occupations in different parts of the country,
06:40and also highlight the role that skills, training, pay and conditions and other policies can play
06:46in improving domestic recruitment,
06:48so that increased migration is never again the only answers to the shortages the economy faces.
06:54This new approach means we also need to act on social care.
06:59The introduction of the social care visa led not only to a huge increase in migration,
07:06but also to a shameful and deeply damaging increase in abuse and exploitation.
07:12When proper checks were finally brought in, 470 care providers had their licence to sponsor international staff suspended,
07:19and 39,000 care workers were displaced.
07:24Overseas recruitment for care jobs has since dropped, but it must not surge like that again,
07:29and it is time we address the domestic issues, including a proper fair pay agreement
07:34to show respect to people who do some of the most important jobs in the country.
07:39We are therefore ending overseas recruitment of care workers.
07:44It will continue to be possible to extend existing visas,
07:47and to recruit displaced care workers and people already in the UK with working rights on other visas.
07:54Alongside the new visa controls and workforce strategies,
07:57we will also increase the immigration skills charge paid by employers who recruit from abroad by 32%.
08:04That money will be invested through the spending review in supporting skills and training here in the UK.
08:12And we will ensure that Britain continues to attract the brightest and best global talent
08:17by enhancing the visa routes for very high-skilled individuals,
08:22top scientific and design talent,
08:24and people with the right experience to support growth in key strategic industries.
08:30Madam Deputy Speaker, international students bring huge benefits to the UK,
08:33supporting our world-leading universities and bringing in top talent and investment.
08:38But we will strengthen compliance requirements and checks to prevent visa misuse.
08:44And currently, too many people on the graduate visa are not doing graduate jobs,
08:47so we will reduce the unrestricted period from two years to 18 months,
08:52and those who want to stay will need to get a graduate job and a skilled worker visa,
08:57so we ensure they are contributing to the economy.
09:00And just as our rules on work visas are based on the contribution we expect people to make
09:05when they come to our country,
09:07we will consult later this year on new earned settlement and citizenship rules
09:12that apply the same approach,
09:14extending the principles of the points-based system,
09:17doubling the standard qualifying period for settlement to 10 years,
09:20but with provisions to qualify more swiftly
09:23that take account of the contribution people have made.
09:26And because the ability to speak English is integral to the ability for everyone to contribute and integrate,
09:33we will introduce higher language requirements and new language requirements
09:38across a range of visa routes for both main applicants and their defendants,
09:43so family, too, can work, integrate and contribute.
09:47But the system for family migration has become overly complex,
09:51with policies increasingly developed around case law in court decisions
09:55rather than a coordinated framework set out by Parliament.
09:58So we will set out a new, clearer framework to be endorsed by Parliament,
10:03including clarifying how Article 8 rules should be interpreted and applied
10:07to prevent confusion or perverse conclusions.
10:10We will review current community sponsorship schemes that support recognised refugees
10:15and continue to take action against trafficking and modern slavery.
10:20And we will shortly appoint a new Windrush Commissioner
10:22to ensure the Windrush lessons continue to be learnt
10:25and the Home Office makes sure its standards are upheld.
10:29But rules must be respected and enforced across the board,
10:32so we will also bring in stronger controls where there is evidence of visa misuse.
10:36We are rolling out e-visas and digital ID,
10:39including better use of technology to monitor when people are overstaying on their visa
10:44or to support the increase in illegal working rates.
10:49Since the election, we have increased returns and we will go further.
10:53Those who come to our country must abide by our laws.
10:57So we will develop new procedures to ensure the Home Office is informed
11:01of all foreign nationals convicted of offence, not just those who go to prison.
11:06So we can also revoke visas and remove other offenders in a wide range of crimes
11:11who are abusing our system.
11:14Madam Deputy Speaker, already we are reducing the number of visas being granted this year
11:18and updated figures will be published before the end of the month.
11:21Already we are increasing returns with over 24,000 people in the first nine months,
11:26the highest nine-month period for eight years.
11:28The impact of the changes to skilled worker visas, care worker visas, settlements, students
11:34and English language is expected to reduce visas by a further around 100,000 a year.
11:40And in addition, the new workforce strategies, immigration skills charge, family and asylum
11:46reforms will further bring numbers down on top of that.
11:50And as the Prime Minister has said, where we need to go further to restore a sustainable system, we will.
11:57Madam Deputy Speaker, throughout our history, Britain has been strengthened by people coming
12:02to start new businesses, study at universities, contribute to our cultural and sporting excellence
12:07and do some of the toughest jobs in our country.
12:09But to be successful, effective and fair, our immigration must be properly controlled and managed.
12:16This White Paper sets out how we will restore control, fairness and order to the system,
12:22how we will continue to bring net migration down and how we will turn the page on the chaos
12:28and failure of the past.
12:30I commend this statement to the House.
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