UK govt unveils new plan to cut immigration

People will soon find it harder to move to the United Kingdom, the government promised on Monday, amid an immigration crackdown that followed recent success for the far-right Reform UK party in local government elections.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government will "tighten up" the immigration system and greatly reduce the number of people legally entering the country.

"Make no mistake, this plan means migration will fall. That's a promise," he said.

The government plans to make that happen by ensuring it is harder for people to get visas, thanks to such things as a new requirement for all applicants and adult dependents to be proficient in English.

The UK will also stop recruiting low-skilled workers from overseas, and people with visas who want "settled status" will need to spend 10 years in the country, instead of five.

Starmer said the government will tighten access to all types of visa, including those granted to students, families, and workers.

The new plan is aimed at cutting the number of people who move to the UK legally. The government has not yet unveiled its full plan for how it will cut the number of people who enter the country illegally, which ran at around 45,000 people last year.

The BBC said net legal migration into the UK in the year ending June 2024, which is the number of people entering the country minus those who left it, stood at 728,000.

Starmer did not say what he thinks that number should be but insisted the government will cut it "significantly".

"I'm doing it because it's right, it's fair, and what I believe in," he added, in reference to claims he wants to win votes from supporters of the Reform UK party.

He said the previous government oversaw a four-fold increase in the number of people entering the country legally and that it was the right time to "finally take back control of our borders" because people had been entering the country in such large numbers that infrastructure, housing, and services could not keep up.

"That's not control, it's chaos," he added.

The prime minister said the government hopes a reduction in net migration will lead to more of the UK's 9 million inactive adults seeking training and finding work.

"If you can work, you should work," he added.

But Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK's opposition Conservative Party, said the government is not sincere about tackling immigration but simply wants to take votes from Reform UK party.

"Keir Starmer once called all immigration laws racist," she said. "So why would anyone believe he actually wants to bring immigration down?"

Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage said in a post on X that the prime minister had made "promises he can't keep".