Minimum salary for recruiting foreign workers to be raised to £30,000 in bid to cut migration

•  Immigration minister Robert Jenrick hinted at the reforms on an ITV show 
•  Ministers are also looking at curbing the right of overseas NHS and care workers

The minimum salary for recruiting overseas workers is to be raised to more than £30,000 in a bid to cut migration.

Ministers are also looking at curbing the right of overseas NHS and care workers to bring family members as they seek to reduce record levels of net immigration.

The moves come ahead of the publication of figures later this month which are expected to show that net immigration remains far above 2019 levels, despite a Tory manifesto pledge to cut numbers.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick hinted at the reforms, telling ITV’s Peston show the system was ‘open to abuse’ and saying new measures would drive a ‘very substantial’ reduction.

‘On legal migration, I’ve said for a long time that it’s far too high,’ he said.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick hinted at the reforms, telling ITV’s Peston show the system was ‘open to abuse’ and saying new measures would drive a ‘very substantial’ reduction

Ministers are also looking at curbing the right of overseas NHS and care workers to bring family members as they seek to reduce record levels of net immigration (Stock Image)

‘The great achievement of Brexit, of taking back control of the levers of migration, has not been used properly, in fact we betrayed, or the administration at the time betrayed, the promise of Brexit by creating a system that was too open to abuse, and which has led to too many people coming into the country.

‘I don’t think that’s an economic model that drives long-term prosperity and I think it does raise challenges in terms of integration and cohesion.

‘So we now need to bring forward fundamental reforms to our system.’

A Whitehall source said ministers were looking at raising the minimum salary threshold from £26,200 to around the UK median wage of £33,000. Former home secretary Suella Braverman is said to have been pushing for £40,000.

Source: Read Full Article