British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government announced tough measures to curb the influx of new immigrants on Monday (4), amid a severe migration crisis that reached record levels last year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). ), published in November.
According to James Wise, the UK’s home secretary, the government’s new measures seek to reduce the number of arrivals to 300,000 from last year’s 745,000. “Immigration is too high. Today we are announcing serious measures to reduce this migration imbalance,” he said, referring to legal and illegal immigrants.
According to Wise, foreigners coming to the country to work as health care providers will be prevented from immigrating with family members, as it is common practice for people to move to the UK with family members in search of work.
Also, the government is planning an increase of approximately one-third in the minimum wage for qualified foreign workers to obtain documentation, to 38,700 pounds (R$242,000 at current prices) per year. The current salary requirement for visa approval is 26,200 pounds (R$163,000).
The United Kingdom announced the end of a federal program that would have eliminated a 20% wage discount for industries with shortages in the country; Reviewing the list of professions with a shortage of specialists; and a 66% increase in co-payments for immigrants to use health care.
According to the agency Reuters, the political initiatives could cause friction with owners of British companies, who have suffered from a shortage of professionals in recent years since the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union in 2020, ending the free movement of people. Professionals from region to country. Currently, immigrants come from India, Nigeria and China.
The measures were announced amid strong pressure from Britain’s Conservative Party, led by Sunak, for greater immigration controls. After the new data was released, the prime minister’s allies said “such a situation is economically and socially unsustainable” and demanded tough measures from the government. Sunak is set to take over as prime minister again next year.
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