UK immigration policy in 2024: what can employers expect?

After the controversial hike in skilled worker minimum visa salary this week, what else lies on the agenda for immigration policy next year, and how can employers prepare? Karendeep Kaur explains.

It has been another busy year for government immigration policy continuing to make the headlines, not least this week when home secretary James Cleverly said the annual salary to receive a UK work visa would climb to £38,700 from £26,200.

But with skills shortages ongoing in many sectors, HR teams will still need to consider how legal immigration mechanisms can support their workforce planning needs next year. So can they plan ahead, or should they expect more surprises?

Fines and punishments

With an election on the horizon, there is likely to be a continuation of government policy geared towards illegal immigration. This week’s announcements already include dramatic changes to legal immigration policy, with the Home Secretary’s five-point plan to slash migration by 300,000.

The announcement confirmed the Home Office will increase the minimum salary for foreign workers to a staggering £38,700 – a backtrack from the December 2020 changes where the minimum salary threshold dropped from £30,000 to £25,600.

The latest ONS immigration figures, which saw an increase in net migration to the UK higher than previously reported, appears to have ignited this new drive to greatly reduce the number of immigrants coming to the UK.

The Home Office’s other focus is on penalties…