UK to deport more foreign criminals, raise visa criteria to reduce migration
The UK government on Sunday said it would give itself stronger powers to deport foreign criminals and lift the threshold for skilled worker visas in a bid to bring down immigration levels.
“Net migration must come down,” interior minister Yvette Cooper wrote in the Sunday Telegraph, a day before she presents the government’s Immigration White Paper to parliament, which will contain its proposals.
Her Labour party is under pressure to tackle the issue, with the anti-immigration Reform party scoring a resounding win in recent local elections and riding high in the polls.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on X on Sunday that previous Conservative governments had “lost control of our borders”.
“I won’t stand for it. I promised to restore control and cut migration, and I’m delivering with tough new measures,” he added.
Labour promised in its general election manifesto last year to significantly reduce net migration, which stood at 728,000 in the 12 months to last June.
Cooper’s Home Office on Sunday said that the plans will include new powers to deport foreign criminals committing offences in the UK.
Currently, the government is only informed of foreign nationals given prison sentences, while deportation arrangements generally focus on those sentenced to more than a year in prison.
“Under the new arrangements, the Home Office will be informed of all foreign nationals convicted of offences…. and will be able to use wider removal powers on other crimes,” said the ministry.
“Those who come to the UK should abide by our laws,” said Cooper.
“The system for returning foreign criminals has been far too weak for too long. We need much higher standards,” she added,
The “radical package of reforms” will also target lower skilled immigration, said Cooper.
The plans “will include new visa controls, such as lifting the threshold for skilled worker visas to reduce lower skilled migration, and new requirements to boost training and skills here in the UK,” she wrote, with foreign workers required to have a degree to secure a job in the UK.
Cooper said that she aims to cut 50,000 lower-skilled worker visas this year.
There will also be “clearer rules” in areas such as immigration on the grounds of family connections in an attempt to cut abuse in the system, said the minister.
“These changes are essential to end the chaos left by the Tories in the immigration system and to regain control,” she added.
The government is also under pressure to stop the flow of migrants crossing the Channel from France to England on flimsy rubber dinghies, with more than 36,800 making the journey last year.
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UK to deport more foreign criminals, raise visa criteria to reduce migration
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