The UK government has implemented a controversial policy that bans migrant care workers and some international students from bringing their family members to the country.
The Home Office announced on Monday that care workers entering the UK on Health and Care Worker visas can no longer bring dependents, such as spouses or children, with them. The move is part of the government’s plan to deliver the “biggest-ever cut in migration”, according to a post on its X handle.
The policy, which was first revealed in December, has sparked criticism from the social care sector, which relies heavily on overseas workers to fill staff shortages. Social Care Minister Helen Whately said in a statement that while she is “grateful” for the contribution of foreign care workers, she is also “clear that immigration is not the long-term answer to our social care needs”.
The government has also introduced new restrictions on family members accompanying international students for non-research postgraduate courses. Only students on postgraduate courses designated as research programmes will be able to bring dependents to the UK while they study. Overseas students will also be prevented from switching “out of the student route into work routes” before their studies have been completed.
The Home Office said the measures are aimed at “protecting the integrity of the UK’s immigration system” and “ensuring that those who come to the UK to study contribute to our society and economy”. It added that there will be “improved and more enforcement activity” and a clamp down on “unscrupulous agents” using education as a cover for immigration.
The new rules come amid a surge in net migration to the UK, which is expected to hit a record high this year. According to its official website, the UK has experienced unprecedented levels of immigration since the pandemic.
The latest official estimates show that net migration in the year to June 2023 was 672,000 – up significantly on pre-pandemic volumes but lower than the 745,000 who came in the year to December 2022.
The government has faced pressure from some sections of the public and the media to reduce immigration, which was one of the main issues in the 2016 Brexit referendum. However, some experts and campaigners have warned that the UK’s economy and society depend on the skills and diversity of migrants, and that the new policies could have negative consequences for the country’s attractiveness.
