Overseas workers could see a raise in the minimum salary threshold in certain sectors to obtain a visa to work in the UK.
Visa requirements for skilled workers in IT, telecommunications, and engineering to come to Britain for fill jobs could also be tightened, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has signalled.
Moreover, restrictions could be seen based on regions of Britain where salary levels and labour force shortages vary.
“Seeking to further understand the reliance on international workers in key sectors,” it has been put to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) that Ms Cooper wants it to take a “look at key occupations to understand the reasons behind their reliance on international recruitment”.
In her letter to the MAC chair, Professor Brian Bell, Ms Cooper said: “Based on a preliminary looking at indicators to inform assessments of reliance on international recruitment, as well as occupational groups which are the largest users of work visas, we have identified the following occupational groups for this review: information technology and telecommunications professionals, engineering professionals.
“These sectors feature in the top 10 of those sectors which have been reliant on international recruitment and the Government would like the MAC to set out the reasons behind this and potential future demand on these sectors.
“We envisage this being the first of such reviews by the MAC as we seek to further understand the reliance on international workers in key sectors.”
The letter came as a visa clampdown has led to a dramatic fall in the number of foreign health and social care workers and students applying to come to the UK, according to Government figures.
The MAC may now review what types of roles are in shortage, along with the different drivers of such shortages, including training, pay and conditions.
What is the minimum visa salary?
The Home Office increased the minimum salary required for those arriving on a Skilled Worker Visa, from £26,200 to £38,700, from April 4.
The Home Office also announced:
Reforms to restrict care workers from bringing family members to the UK, from March 11.
Measures requiring care providers to register with the Care Quality Commission if they are sponsoring migrants.
The minimum income threshold for those bringing dependents to the UK on family visas will increase in stages, from April 11. Workers will now need to be earning at least £29,000-a-year to bring a family member from abroad – up from £18,600.
How much could the minimum visa threshold salary rise?
The new threshold of £29,000 will climb by additional amounts to £34,000 then £38,000 on undefined dates in the future.
A prohibition on care providers bringing their families into the UK and an increase in the minimum wage required to obtain a Skilled Worker Visa from £26,200 to £38,700 are among other measures included in the plan.
