How English Language And Other New UK Immigration Rules Will Impact Indians

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the country's immigration system, aiming to significantly reduce net migration.

Citizenship

The new plans, outlined in an 82-page white paper, include a "contributions-based" citizenship model, where migrants will have to live in the UK for 10 years before applying for citizenship, up from the current five years.

This change will come with exceptions for individuals who make a "high contribution" to the economy or society, allowing them to be fast-tracked for permanent settlement rights. The Home Office said this will include "high-skilled" and "high-contributing" individuals like nurses, doctors, engineers and AI leaders.

The government predicts the changes could reduce the number of people arriving by around 100,000 per year. A government official said the fall in the number of people could be larger, particularly if the government decides to take additional steps to reduce immigration. Currently, migrants have to live in the UK for five years to get indefinite leave to remain, or "settled status" if they are from the EU. They can then use this to apply for British citizenship, usually 12 months after settlement.

Dr. Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, believes the extended residency requirement will not significantly impact migration levels but will generate more visa-fee revenue, and "to make it harder for migrants to settle in", per Sky News.

English Language

The new rules will introduce tougher English language requirements for visa routes. Adult dependents who come with arriving workers or students will need to show basic English skills to get visas. The government said this will help people integrate and find employment.

"If you want to live in the UK, you should speak English. That's common sense," Mr Starmer said in a post on X.

Dr Sumption also said that these language requirements "are more likely to have an impact on the number of visas granted", as more than half of the skilled worker visas have gone to dependents, over the past two years. "However, there's no data on how many of them would have passed a language test so it is hard to say how big," Dr Sumption added.

Care Sector

The government plans to end overseas recruitment of care workers, effective with a transition period until 2028. The White Paper aims at every UK visa category, but the Health and Social Care visa - led by Indians and other South Asian applicants, will impact the latter considerably.

Students

Overseas student visas will witness a tightening of the post-study Graduate Route visa offer from two years to 18 months. International students will still be able to work in Britain after they graduate but only for 18 months, down from two years currently. This is most likely to impact Chinese and Indian students as their overseas student visas are a category dominated by them.

The government said it would explore introducing a levy on higher education providers' income from tuition fees from international students. The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK, flagged concerns regarding its impact on Indian students as they are the largest users of the Graduate Route with an aim of acquiring international work experience at the conclusion of their degrees, per PTI.

Mr Starmer emphasised the need for control over the UK's borders, stating, "We will take back control of our borders", he also said, "Without the tough new rules, the UK risks becoming an island of strangers." The UK's immigration landscape has seen record numbers, with 906,000 immigrants entering the country in fiscal year 2023 and 728,000 in 2024, per the Guardian.

Mr Starmer's government faces pressure to tackle both legal and illegal migration amid the surge of the right-wing Reform Party in polls.

Higher Overseas Worker Cost

The government has also added in the policy document that they would introduce a 32% increase in 'immigration skills charge' if employers choose to take someone via a skilled visa or similar route.

Currently, the cost of immigration skills charge is 1,000 pounds per worker for a year, for a large company and 364 pounds per worker for a small company.

Asylum Seekers

The government said it would introduce legislation to limit asylum seekers' use of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights - which protects the right to a family - so fewer cases are treated as "exceptional". The government said further reforms to the asylum system would be published later in the year, per Reuters.

The Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, criticised Labour's handling of immigration, stating that Mr Starmer has "overseen the worst ever start to a year for illegal immigrants crossing the channel" and that "the idea that Starmer is tough on immigration is a joke."