Home Secretary James Cleverly has presented the government with a new five-point plan to reduce legal immigration recently, mainly targeted at health and care visas, which have increased significantly in recent years. The plan includes:

1. Restricting health and care visa holders from bringing their dependants to the UK, and requiring all care firms to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission;
2. From the spring of 2024, the annual salary threshold for skilled workers will be significantly increased from £26,200 to £38,700, with the exception of those on health and care visas, to ensure that the UK healthcare system is adequately staffed;
3. Abolishing overseas cheap labour: cancel the 20% salary discount for the minimum salary for the jobs on the shortage occupations list. The jobs on list will be reviewed and shorten;
4. The minimum threshold for family visas will be significantly increased from £18,600 to £38,700 to ensure people bringing dependants can financially support themselves;
5. Followed the restriction on student visa holders to bring their dependants to the UK in early time this year, and the government will ask the Migration Advisory Committed to review the Graduate visas to prevent abuse and to protect the integrity as well as quality of UK higher education.

James Cleverly said that the health and care visa, which had about 120,000 dependants as of September this year, but it is estimated that only about a quarter of the family members were employed, most of whom relied on public services and did not contribute much to the UK economy, so it is necessary to stop people on such visas from bringing their family members to the UK.

The Immigration Health Surcharge is going to increase 66%, or £1,035 per annum. James Cleverly reiterated that the Home Office will implement this to ensure the quality of services in the UK healthcare system. He estimates that under these five new measures, more than 300,000 people will now be unable to come to the UK.

If you want to relocate to the UK, please apply as soon as possible before the new immigration laws come into force. You are welcome to contact our team for enquiries or visa applications.

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