Foreign Inflow Reduction Measures Including Suspension of Care Worker Acceptance - Immigration System Reform Proposal

This is a comprehensive analysis of the immigration system reform white paper announced by the UK government in May 2025, aimed at reducing foreign inflow, examining its background, content, and impacts.

Following Brexit, the UK has experienced a rapid increase in the inflow of foreign workers and international students, with net inflow in the 12 months to June 2023 reaching 906,000 people, a fourfold increase from 2019 (224,000), reaching record levels. The main factors behind this surge were system liberalization measures including lowering the skill level for accepted worker categories from graduate-equivalent to secondary education completion-equivalent, relaxing salary requirements from £30,000 to £25,600, and beginning care worker acceptance in 2022.

The government's reform proposal includes returning the skill level for accepted occupations under work visas to pre-Brexit graduate-equivalent (Level 6) and raising salary standards. Particularly notable is the policy to suspend new acceptance of care workers under Health and Care Visas, with transitional measures until 2028 allowing only visa extensions for existing workers and transfers from other work visas. For occupations below graduate-equivalent level, acceptance will only be temporarily permitted under strict conditions where advisory bodies recognize long-term shortage situations and industries create labor force procurement plans through domestic worker training.

Study visa requirements are also being tightened, including stricter compliance evaluations for educational institutions, consideration of burden taxes on higher education institutions' international student acceptance income, and shortening Graduate Visa stay periods from 2 years to 18 months. Overall English language requirement increases are also planned, including raising English proficiency requirements for workers, setting basic English proficiency standards for accompanying families upon entry, and extending residence requirements for permanent residence applications from 5 to 10 years.

The government estimates a total reduction effect of 98,000 people from the series of measures, broken down as 39,000 from raising skill levels for accepted occupations, 7,000 from suspending care worker acceptance, and 31,000 from study-related system revisions. In July 2025, revisions to accepted occupations following skill level increases (approximately 180 occupation deletions) and suspension of new care worker visa acceptance were already implemented.

Opinions on the policy are divided, with many concerns about impacts on the care industry and higher education institutions, and criticism that prevention of exploitation of foreign workers is not sufficiently considered. Evaluations among researchers are also split, with some criticizing it as policy disconnected from reality, while others evaluate the suspension of care worker acceptance as a necessary measure.

The article indicates that the UK's immigration system reform is a comprehensive initiative aiming to balance foreign inflow reduction with domestic workforce development, with future verification of its effectiveness and social impacts being crucial.