UK’s New Immigration Plan Blocks Low-Skilled Workers, Non-English Speakers

The British government unveiled on Wednesday a new immigration program, effective Jan. 1, 2021, that will make it much harder for unskilled workers and non-English speakers to obtain a visa to enter the country.

Under the proposed system, prospective immigrants will be graded on a points system, evaluating their skills, education levels, English language proficiency, job sponsorship in the U.K., etc.

“Today is a historic moment for the whole country. We’re ending free movement, taking back control of our borders and delivering on the people’s priorities by introducing a new U.K. points-based immigration system, which will bring overall migration numbers down,” said Priti Patel, the home secretary. “"We will attract the brightest and the best from around the globe, boosting the economy and our communities, and unleash this country's full potential.”

The Home Office assured, however, that EU and non-EU citizens would be treated equally under the program.

Among other things, visa applicants must be skilled, speak English and already have a job offer that will pay them a minimum of £25,600 (about $33,175) -- although “a salary floor” of £20,480 ($26,540) will be acceptable in special cases where labor shortages exist.

Moreover, that £25,600 figure represents a drop from the prior £30,000 ($38,900) minimum.

Professions such as waiters, waitresses and “elementary” agriculture and fishery workers have been classified as “low skilled.”

Self-employed people without a job will be barred entry, although a limited number of highly skilled workers will be allowed to enter without a job.

However, there will no longer exist a cap on the number of skilled workers who could enter the U.K.

Patel told BBC that the government wanted to "encourage people with the right talent" to enter the country and to "reduce the levels of people coming to the U.K. with low skills.”

Patel added that British businesses could also recruit workers from among 8 million "economically inactive" people already in the U.K.

The government also said that companies must stop depending on cheap migrant labor.

“U.K. businesses will need to adapt and adjust to the end of free movement [of migrants], and we will not seek to recreate the outcomes from free movement within the points-based system,” said the government. “It is important that employers move away from a reliance on the U.K.’s immigration system and as alternative to investment in staff retention, productivity, and wider investment in technology and automation.”

Danny Shaw, BBC’s home affairs correspondent, wrote that the new immigration scheme represents “a balancing act -- broadening the base of skilled labor while restricting the flow of those seeking lower-skilled jobs.”

“But for EU migrants who are used to moving freely between Britain and the continent, the new regime will be something of a shock,” he added.

Some unions and industry leaders warned the new visa system will do great harm to sectors of the economy that rely heavily on low-skilled immigrants, like restaurants, farms, warehouses and factories.

“Jobs the government considers ‘low-skilled’ are vital to well-being and business growth. The announcement threatens to shut out the people we need to provide services the public rely on,” Tom Hadley, director of policy at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, warned. “We need access to workers that can help us look after the elderly, build homes and keep the economy strong.”

UK-Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls, said “ruling out a temporary, low-skilled route for migration in just 10 months’ time would be disastrous for the hospitality sector and the British people.”

Unison, a British union that represents public service workers, said the new immigration restrictions will particularly hurt the health care industry.

“These plans spell absolute disaster for the care sector,“ said Unison assistant general secretary Christina McAnea. “Care doesn’t even get a mention in the home secretary’s plans. Companies and councils can’t recruit enough staff from the U.K. so have to rely on care workers from elsewhere. But even with these migrant employees, there’s still way too few care workers to meet demand. Care work is highly skilled, but low paid, so falls foul of the government’s arbitrary immigration threshold. Suddenly ending this desperately needed supply of labor will cause huge problems across the country.”

Nick Triggle, BBC’s health correspondent, noted that foreign workers currently make up one-sixth of the 840,000-strong care worker workforce in England. “It is hard to see how in the future these staff could qualify [for visa entry],” he wrote.

The Confederation of British Industry’s director- general Carolyn Fairbairn said “with already low unemployment, firms in care, construction, hospitality, food and drink could be most affected.”

Labour Party members also condemned the new rules.

Labour’s shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, said the requirement for English speakers bordered on racism. “Most people who come here to work can already speak English,” she said. “But are we really going to block [math] geniuses whose English isn’t great? It’s inhumane and damaging.”

Abbott added: “Ultimately, it will also be very difficult to attract the workers we need at all skill levels while the Tories’ hostile environment is in place. It needs to go.”

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokeswoman Christine Jardine said the new proposals were inspire by "xenophobia.”

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the visa rules would be "devastating" for the Scottish economy.

Sturgeon further called for Scots' own immigration matters to be held by Holyrood, Scotland’s parliament, due to Scotland’s falling birth rate and aging demographics.

Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, called the immigration overhaul “the biggest threat to Scotland’s tourism industry,” noting this sector accounts for one in 12 Scottish jobs, with many posts filled by foreign workers.

“Scotland’s situation is unique, we have very fragile areas in our economy and it is more important than ever that we’re able to attract and retain people, particularly in the Highlands and Islands and other rural areas,” he said.

Fragomen, a British immigration law firm, asked the government to reconsider.

“I can’t overstate the scale of change that many employers are now facing," said Ian Robinson, a partner at Fragomen and a former policy official at the Home Office. "Businesses employing skilled workers from outside of Europe should be happy, the system will be fast and slick and I’m optimistic that it will work well. It will be harder to employ skilled Europeans than it is now, but overall the system makes sense. That said, completely turning off the tap for low skilled workers, save for a few niche exceptions, should really worry the hospitality, care and construction sectors, among others. A high wage, high skill and high productivity economy is exactly the right aspiration, but the entire business world can’t realistically adapt between now and New Year’s Eve.”