The Government's Proposed New Rules For Immigration, Plan For Change

The Government's white paper, Plan for Change, on immigration is a total reversal of previous policies. The latest statistics reveal a significant rise in net migration reaching nearly one million in the year ending June 2023. The Government intends to reduce the reliance on the recruitment of foreign nationals. New rules introduced in January 2024 already prevents foreign students from bringing family members to the UK and also prevents students from transitioning to a work visa before their course ends as a way of reducing abuse of the system. Students are now required to complete their course before attempting to obtain a work visa. It must be stressed that at the present time Plan for Change and the associated White Paper are simply proposals, it is likely that not every aspect of the proposed policies will come into effect.