UK visa: Keir Starmer govt to target foreign hiring in IT and engineering—Will Indian workers be affected?

Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led United Kingdom (UK) government is looking to curb overseas hiring by information technology, telecom and engineering companies.

Changes in the UK visa rules could impact the aspiring Indian professionals in these sectors that have been among the top users of work visas.

Raising of the minimum income threshold or curbs based on different regions of Britain may become part of the new visa rules.

In a letter to Brian Bell, Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), Britain Home secretary Yvette Cooper has asked the panel to review technology, telecommunications and engineering sectors’ reliance on skilled worker visas.

There is need to understand why certain key occupations depend heavily on foreign workers, she also said.

“These sectors feature in the top 10 of those sectors which have been reliant on international recruitment and the govt would like MAC to set out the reasons behind this. The high levels of international recruitment reflect weaknesses in the labour market, including persistent skills shortages in the UK,” she wrote.

“What policy levers within the immigration system could be used to incentivise sectors to focus on recruiting from the domestic workforce,” she said, adding that the system is “not operating in the national interest”.

While the UK government was “very grateful for the contribution that people from all over the world make to our economy... the system needs to be managed and controlled,” the home secretary also said.

The MAC has been asked to submit its report in nine months.

UK Family Visa minimum income rule

Recently, the Keir Starmer government had shelved a planned hike in the minimum income threshold for British nationals and permanent residents applying to bring family members to join them in the UK

Cooper had told the House of Commons in a written statement that there will be no further hike on the current GBP 29,000 annual income requirement until the MAC completes a review into the impact of the hikes on families.

“The family immigration rules, including the minimum income requirement, need to balance a respect for family life with ensuring that the economic wellbeing of the UK is maintained, she had said.