UK Restricts Work Visas to Graduates Only Amid Rising Xenophobia Pressures

The outline of plans to restrict mass migration, aiming to end the ‘failed free market experiment,’ as it was labeled, was presented by the government on Sunday (11.05.2025). The Labour government led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer will issue work visas only to graduates and require businesses to increase training programs for local workers. Following the success of the far-right, anti-immigration party ‘Reform UK’ led by Nigel Farage in recent local elections, Starmer is under pressure to reduce ‘net’ migration. Under the new government plans, work visas will be granted exclusively to graduates, while visas for lower-skilled positions will only be issued in sectors critical to the country’s industrial strategy. In return, companies must enhance the training of British workers. Care sector firms will no longer be able to request visas for workers hired abroad. The Labour government stated that these changes will be included in the White Paper, to be presented on Monday, May 12, outlining how ministers plan to reduce migration. High levels of legal migration were a key reason prompting Britons to vote for Brexit in 2016 due to dissatisfaction with the EU’s free movement of workers. After the UK’s final departure from the EU in 2020, the then Conservative government tightened visa issuance criteria, categorizing roles such as yoga teachers, dog walkers, and DJs as ‘skilled labor.’ ‘We inherited a failed immigration system where the previous government replaced free movement with a free market experiment,’ said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. ‘We are taking decisive action to restore control and order to the immigration system,’ she added. While post-Brexit visa changes sharply reduced the number of migrants from the EU to the UK, new work visa rules and arrivals from Ukraine and Hong Kong under special programs have led to an increase in migration. Net migration (the number of people coming to the UK minus those leaving) hit a record high of 906,000 annually by June 2023. In 2019, when the UK was still in the EU, it stood at 184,000 people. Cooper said combining changes to low-skilled visa rules and ending visas for foreign caregivers could reduce low-skilled worker permits by up to 50,000 this year. British employers have expressed concerns about the government’s plans to tighten rules for foreign workers, stating they are essential to fill labor market gaps.