In a media publication the UK’s Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, stated that there are too many low-skilled migrant workers and international students in Britain. Braverman went on to say that these ‘low-skilled migrants’ and international students (and their dependents) are not contributing to the growth of the economy, and for that reason, the UK needs to focus on attracting high-skilled labour.
However, despite Braverman talking in-depth about the need to change the UK’s immigration system, she failed to acknowledge that there are currently around 1.3 million vacancies in the UK - many of which the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) would classify as being ‘low skilled’. One of the reasons for the record number of vacancies in the UK is due to the ending of free movement of workers from Europe. In an attempt to mitigate against the consequences of this, the Home Office lowered the skill level for a Skilled Worker visa – however, they kept the minimum salary requirement to £25,600 per year which in turn has created problems in industries where lower wages prevail.
Going forward the government will have to be very clear on how they define ‘low skilled’ and be clear whether certain jobs which the MAC define as ‘low skilled’ (i.e. butchers, chefs, and care workers) will continue to be recognised as a shortage occupation for the purposes of the Skilled Worker visa.
Despite Braverman stating that the number of international students in the UK was ‘too high’, It has been reported that one way in which the ministers are looking to boost the UK’s economic growth is by extending the work hour limit for the student visa. It has been suggested that ministers are debating whether to increase the work hour limit to 30-hours or scrap it completely. The rationale behind this is that by allowing international students to work more hours in the UK, students will be more incentivised to work, and so, there should be fewer vacancies in the UK.
As an immigration law firm, we believe that global talent is vital for economic growth. However, we do not believe that extending the work rights of those on a student visa is necessarily the way to go. Our primary concern with this plan is that by extending work rights, international students in the UK may start to prioritise work over study or even their health and wellbeing. We already know that a few of our university clients limit the number of hours their international students can work during term time because they are concerned about students prioritising work over study. Therefore, it is unlikely that the proposed plans will be welcome news to universities across the UK.
As always, should any announcements be made in relation to this we will keep you updated.