The United Kingdom Home Office has introduced new visa rules that affect overseas care workers by preventing them from bringing their families to the country.
In a recent statement, the authority said that these rules are part of the government’s effort to reduce excessive levels of legal migration and curb visa misuse, VisaGuide.World reports.
Under the new regulations, care workers can no longer bring their dependent family members to the UK. This decision came after it was observed that last year, an overwhelming number of dependants, 120,000, accompanied 100,000 workers.
The change is part of a larger set of measures aimed at reducing the number of people eligible to enter the UK, which now prevents nearly 300,000 individuals who would have been eligible last year from coming to the country.
According to UK Home Office, these new regulations are being implemented alongside further measures to protect British workers, such as raising the salary threshold for skilled workers to qualify for a visa and removing the 20 percent discount previously offered to migrant workers in shortage occupations.
The UK Home Office will ask the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to ensure that demand for the graduate route, through which a total of 175,872 visas have been granted since it was established, is fit for purpose and focused on attracting the best and brightest to the UK.
The initiative comes in response to concerns raised following an analysis by the MAC, which found a staggering 250 percent increase in international postgraduate students enrolling at institutions with the lowest UCAS entry requirements between 2018 and 2022.
UK Introduces First National Career Path for Care Workers
The Minister for Social Care, Helen Whately MP, announced significant reforms to increase the domestic workforce in the social care sector, including creating the first national career path for care workers. According to her, a new qualification for care will be introduced, further enriching the skills and competence of individuals within the sector.
From 4 April, the minimum wage requirement for individuals entering the UK on a skilled worker visa will rise from £26,200 to £38,700 – representing a significant increase of 48 percent.
The arrangement aims to reduce the number of migrants, ease pressure on public services, and curb the exploitation of British workers by employers seeking cheap labor from abroad. In addition, the minimum income requirement for family visas will also increase, starting at £29,000 from 11 April and reaching £38,700 at the start of 2025.
Department for Work & Pensions to Launch £2.5 Billion Plan to Aid Long-Term Unemployed
At the same time, the Department for Work and Pensions is also launching a comprehensive £2.5 billion back-to-work plan, one of the biggest employment interventions in recent memory, aimed at helping 1.1 million long-term unemployed or ill or disabled individuals limited to overcome barriers to employment.