British Prime Minister Sir Keir Rodney Starmer has decided to enact stricter policies against illegal immigrants as immigration has become a serious problem in his country over the past few decades. Although former Prime Minister David William Donald Cameron had pledged to reduce the annual net migration to below 100,000 by the end of 2010, four successive Conservative Governments failed to meet the target. In fact, public anger over the British Government‘s inability to control immigration from the European Union (EU) was one of the reasons that prompted Britain to leave the 27-member bloc (Brexit).

However, Brexit failed to prevent the infiltration of foreigners. Instead, the recent influx of thousands of illegal migrants into Britain has exposed the failure of the government in controlling movements near the border. It may be noted that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party has made big gains in the recently-held local elections by advocating tougher immigration policies. According to analysts, electoral politics has prompted Prime Minister Starmer to amend immigration policies.

The Starmer Administration has made several changes in the new immigration policies. For example, the government has increased the minimum residence period from five to 10 years for immigrants to apply for British citizenship. Furthermore, the Graduate Route visa, which previously allowed international students to stay in the UK for two years without a sponsor after completing their studies, has been reduced to 18 months. Their Right to Work (after completing studies) has also been reduced in the new system that has also tightened the English language requirements.

Meanwhile, low-skilled visas are planned to be reduced by up to 50,000 in 2025. This is part of a wider effort by the British Government to reduce overall migration. The changes would primarily impact Care Worker visas, with the government aiming to end the practice of recruiting care workers from overseas. Additionally, the rules for Skilled Worker visas are being tightened, requiring a degree for most roles, according to a White Paper released by the Starmer Government.

It may be noted that Indians make up a large portion of student and skilled worker visa applicants in Britain. Hence, the reduction in the duration of the Graduate Visa would affect the opportunities of Indian students to gain work experience at an international level after the completion of their studies. On the other hand, many potential Indian migrants would lose employment opportunities because of the closure of Health and Care Worker visas.

The Labour Party has expressed hope that the move would help restore public confidence in the government. According to a survey, the majority of Britons want their government to take stricter actions against illegal immigration, especially against human traffickers who bring refugees from France to Britain by crossing the English Channel. However, Prime Minister Starmer’s new immigration policies would mainly control legal immigration. As the government services are still heavily dependent on immigration in various sectors, including healthcare; many are against the government’s decision to reduce the number of Care Worker visas.

Immigration has already become one of the key divisive socio-political issues in developed countries. It would seemingly become a source of extreme social division, as well as hatred, in the 21st Century.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das