What changes does the May 2025 immigration white paper propose?

The document covers both high-level principles and specific policy changes. Eight proposals are detailed enough to be quantified: that is, civil servants have included some rough illustrations of how much they might reduce net migration (PDF).

The eight proposals are:

- Shortening the list of jobs for which employers can sponsor a worker from overseas for a Skilled Worker visa. Jobs assessed as being medium-skilled – RQF level 3 – cannot be filled from overseas unless the Migration Advisory Committee recommends an exemption and the industry is demonstrating efforts to recruit domestically.

- Ending an existing exemption for social care workers: employers will no longer be allowed to recruit them from abroad.

- Exploring a levy on English universities’ income from international student fees.

- Making it harder for universities to keep their licence to sponsor student visas by introducing tougher compliance rules.

- Reducing the standard length of the Graduate visa, for international students to stay on and work in the UK, from two years to 18 months.

- Stricter English language rules: higher standards for those already taking language tests, and requiring the partners of people moving to the UK on work visas to have basic English to qualify for a ‘dependant’ visa.

- Increasing the standard qualifying period for permanent residence (also known as indefinite leave to remain or settlement) from five to ten years, with some people qualifying sooner based on criteria yet to be decided.

- Making it easier for people to come to the UK on certain visas aimed at highly skilled migrants, such as the Global Talent and High Potential routes. This is the only measure of the eight designed to increase immigration.

Most of these changes can be made by amending the immigration rules. They do not require an act of Parliament or statutory instrument, except for the levy on student fees.

The white paper is a wide-ranging document and covers other important issues. These include a new Labour Market Evidence Group, reforms to family and dependant visas, Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and deportation of foreign national offenders.