Keir Starmer to make major immigration update in Downing Street press conference
Sir Keir Starmer will unveil a major UK Government immigration crackdown during a Downing Street press conference shortly. The Prime Minister is expected to set out sweeping reforms to reduce net migration and will promise a "clean break with the past", reports the Mirror.
He will promise that "enforcement will be tougher than ever and migration numbers will fall", as he addresses the nation. He is due to speak at around 8.30am ahead of the Government publishing its long-awaited immigration white paper.
The white paper, which will be published today, Monday, May 12, is expected to contain a string of measures to make it harder for people to permanently settle in the UK. Instead of the current five-year period, migrants will need to live in Britain for a decade before they can apply for citizenship.
However, high-skilled workers such as nurses, doctors, engineers and AI leaders could be fast-tracked under the plans.
English language requirements will be tightened across all visa routes - and all adult dependents will be required to demonstrate a basic understanding of English.
A university degree will be required for skilled worker visas and a care visa route for overseas workers will be closed under the plans, sparking a fierce backlash from industry bosses.
The UK Government is battling to slash net migration - the difference between people arriving in the UK and leaving it - which ballooned to 728,000 in 2024 despite a string of Tory PMs promising to get numbers down.
This comes as Labour seeks to neutralise the threat from Nigel Farage after Reform UK swept to power in 10 councils in England and snatched a by-election win in Labour-held Runcorn and Helsby by six votes.
But the crackdown is likely to be controversial - with care providers branding a ban on overseas recruitment "cruel".
The PM is expected to say: 'This is a clean break from the past and will ensure settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right.
"And when people come to our country, they should also commit to integration and to learning our language. Lower net migration, higher skills and backing British workers – that is what this White Paper will deliver.'
The measures will be extremely controversial as they are laid out in a document published on Monday.
Prof Nicola Ranger, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing will tell its annual congress that the Government's plans are about "pandering and scapegoating".
She will say: "The UK is so reliant on overseas colleagues, especially in social care. The Government has no plan to grow a domestic workforce. This is about politics - pandering and scapegoating. It should be about people."
Meanwhile Care England's chief executive Martin Green earlier labelled the Government's plans as " cruel".
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Sunday that previous governments left behind "broken promises", adding: "We're not going to take that really failed approach, because I think what we need to do is rebuild credibility and trust in the whole system."
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