Rishi Sunak unveils tough five-step plan to slash migration by 300k as he blasts ‘enough is enough’
RISHI Sunak unveiled plans to slash net migration by 300,000 a year — insisting today: “Enough is enough.”
The PM announced tough new rules to encourage bosses to hire and train home-grown talent instead.
Mr Sunak is vowing “the biggest ever cut in net migration”.
Writing in The Sun today, he says: “People are rightly angry about record numbers of migrants coming to our country.”
He made a thinly veiled attack on former PM Boris Johnson after net migration hit 745,000 in 2022, placing a huge strain on public services.
Mr Sunak went on: “Brexit was meant to bring control of our borders and the points-based immigration system was supposed to keep numbers low.
“But too often politicians haven’t been willing to take the hard decisions to deliver on those promises.”
He said figures have instead just got “higher and higher”, adding: “Enough is enough — it’s time to get control of immigration once and for all.”
The blitz will be followed by new moves on illegal migration and small boats.
Home Secretary James Cleverly is expected to unveil a fresh Rwanda treaty in days after the original plan was scuppered by the Supreme Court.
It will be backed by legislation to reduce chances of future legal defeats.
Migrants will need to earn at least £38,700 to come to the UK as part of PM Rishi Sunak’s immigration shake- up to stop them “undercutting British workers”.
Government proposals will also include a ban on care staff bringing their family members from abroad — in a bid to drive down soaring migrant numbers.
Home Secretary James Cleverly yesterday ran through a new five-point plan which will also stop bosses hiring from overseas at a cheaper rate.
Claiming the measures would have denied 300,000 people entry to Britain last year, he told MPs: “Immigration policy must be fair, legal, and sustainable.”
As part of the crackdown the Shortage Occupation List, which allows firms to bring people over on visas for 20 per cent less than the going rate, will be scrapped.
The salary threshold for foreign workers will be raised from £26,200 to £38,700 — a 48 per cent hike — in a win for right-wing Tory MPs who have been pushing for just such an increase.
However, people coming to work in health and social care will be exempt from the raised salary rules.
Those already in Britain wanting to sponsor loved ones to bring them in on a family visa will also need to earn £38,700 — up from £18,600 — the first increase since 2012.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Cleverly also announced a tightening of care worker rules, preventing them from bringing in dependents altogether.
Revealing the scale of the problem, he said: “Approximately 120,000 dependants accompanied 100,000 care workers in the year ending September 2023.”
But he told concerned MPs he did not foresee the crackdown causing staffing problems for the NHS.
The Home Secretary said that in the long-term unemployed Britons should fill the vacancies, stressing they should “get off benefits and move back into work”.
The healthcare immigration surcharge — used to pay for migrants’ NHS treatment — will also be raised by 66 per cent from £624 to £1,035.
And a review of the graduate route — allowing students to stay two years after university — will be launched.
Curbs stopping students, except those doing postgraduate research, from bringing dependents were announced this year.
Mr Cleverly said: “The British people always want to do right by those in need. But they also — and are absolutely right to — want to reduce overall immigration numbers.
“Not only by stopping the boats and shutting down illegal routes, but through a reduction in legal immigration.
“People are understandably worried about housing, getting GP appointments, school places, and access to other public services.”
The PM’s spokesman added: “This is the biggest clampdown on legal migration ever. It doesn’t prevent us going further should we choose to do so in the future.”
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman broadly backed the changes, saying they are a “step in the right direction”.
But she added: “We need to be honest. This package is too late and the Government can go further.”
She said any difference will not be seen until official figures are released in 2025, with barely any impact before next year’s General Election.
Ms Braverman added the graduate route should be curtailed rather than just reviewed and an annual cap on numbers introduced.
Tory MPs — who have been openly criticising their leader over soaring arrival figures — largely welcomed yesterday’s announcement.
But backbencher Tom Hunt said there is “great cynicism” among voters at ministers’ genuine desire to cut migration — and warned the Government must now deliver.
The 2019 Tory manifesto pledged to wrestle net arrivals below 250,000, while former PM David Cameron — now Foreign Secretary — previously promised to get the figure down below 100,000.
Last month, the Office for National Statistics put the latest estimates for the year to June 2023 at 672,000.
A total 1.18 million came to the UK during that period — mainly legally but also illegally — while 508,000 left.
Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the announcement was “an admission of years of total failure and chaos by this Conservative government”
A recent surge in numbers was driven by non-EU migrants, with 253,000 arriving from India, the largest group.
Students accounted for 39 per cent of all non-EU arrivals, with those on work-related visas making up 33 per cent.
The PM’s package to grip legal migration comes ahead of a fresh deal with Rwanda to tackle illegal arrivals.
Mr Cleverly is expected to fly out to the African nation’s capital Kigali within days to sign a new treaty, addressing the issues raised by the Supreme Court, which last month ruled the policy unlawful.
PM's 5-step plan
Care Crackdown: Ban foreign workers in homes from bringing in their family members.
Salary Hike: Skilled workers to earn at least £38,700, up from £26,200.
No Cheap Labour: Rules letting bosses hire for 20% less than going rate to be axed.
Family Values: People on a family visa must have a sponsor earning £38,700.
Grad Review: A review of the graduate route for immigrants will be launched.