Skilled foreign nationals seeking work in the UK will soon be required to hold a university degree, under sweeping new immigration reforms aimed at curbing net migration.
Labour is preparing to reintroduce the graduate-level threshold for skilled worker visas—reversing a key change introduced under Boris Johnson’s points-based system, which currently permits applicants with A-level equivalent qualifications.
Set to be unveiled in a long-awaited immigration White Paper on Monday, the new measures form a central pillar of Labour’s strategy to reduce migration and address public concern.
While the points-based system will remain in place, its application to lower-skilled roles will be tightly restricted to critical sectors such as information technology, construction, and engineering—areas experiencing acute shortages.
To discourage long-term reliance on foreign labour, employers will be limited to hiring overseas staff on a temporary, time-limited basis. Crucially, firms must also prove they are actively training British workers—through apprenticeships or upskilling initiatives—or risk losing their visa-sponsorship licence.
Writing in The Telegraph, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper outlined five guiding principles underpinning the new regime.
“First, migration must come down to ensure the system is properly managed. Second, immigration must be tied to the UK’s skills and training needs. Third, it must be fair and transparent, with Parliament setting clear rules. Fourth, those rules must be enforced, and finally, the system must support integration and social cohesion.”
She added, “These reforms are vital to restore order after the chaos left by the Conservatives and to regain control of our borders.”
The upcoming White Paper also includes tough penalties for employers who flout employment law. Firms failing to pay the minimum wage or breach labour regulations will be barred from recruiting foreign workers.
Labour is taking aim at what it calls a “broken Tory legacy,” accusing the previous government of overseeing an influx of low-skilled labour that pushed net migration to a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
Internal figures show that skilled worker visas issued below graduate level surged from 10% in 2021 to roughly 50% in 2024.
Despite the reforms, Labour has resisted setting a firm target for reducing net migration.
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that, without further action, annual net migration could stabilise around 340,000—still well above pre-Brexit levels.
The announcement comes in the wake of disappointing local election results for Labour, where the party suffered significant losses to Reform UK, partly due to its perceived weakness on immigration.
Responding on Sunday, the Conservatives dismissed the plans as insufficient. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called Labour’s proposals a “white flag,” claiming the sharp drop in student dependants and social care visas was the result of Conservative action—not Labour initiative.
“Labour scrapped our plan to raise the salary threshold for family visas, gutted enforcement measures, and now they’re trying to claim credit for returns we built from scratch. It’s political opportunism at its worst,” Philp said.
