Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Government has frequently changed Skilled Worker visa requirements to manage net migration.
Conclusion
Since 2021, the government has made a series of changes to entry requirements for Skilled Worker visas. In 2022, it expanded the route to respond to the needs of the care sector.7 In Spring 2024, the government tightened entry requirements for Skilled Worker visas to help reduce net migration.8 The government’s Immigration White Paper, published shortly after our evidence session, proposes further changes to Skilled Worker visas to reduce net migration, including increasing the skill threshold back to degree level and above; raising English language requirements for applicants and their dependants; and increasing the qualifying period for citizenship from 5 to 10 years.9