This will prevent the scheme from being exploited.
Home Secretary James Cleverly has announced several measures that are designed to bring migration numbers down.
This includes an increase in the minimum salary required for foreign workers to be eligible for a work visa.
The minimum salary for a skilled worker visa has risen from £26,200 to £38,700, which is nearly £4,000 more than the current median salary of a full-time UK worker.
This will affect many Indians and Pakistanis who plan to come to the UK for work.
Applicants currently need 70 points to be eligible for the visa.
Around 20 points come from a combination of salary, working in a shortage occupation or having a relevant PhD.
The rise in minimum salary means it is more difficult to be eligible for the visa.
The skilled worker visa is also something that has been taken advantage of by overseas students.
International students apply for a student visa but upon their arrival in the UK, international students drop out soon after enrolment to accept employment offers in the care sector.
Students who can secure a job offer from an employer approved by the Home Office can then apply to switch from the student visa to the skilled worker visa immediately without the need to complete their degree.
This is a cheaper and faster route to full-time employment compared to the graduate route.
Mr Cleverly announced that international students will not be able to switch from the student visa to the skilled worker visa before their studies have been completed.
This will prevent the scheme from being exploited.
Mr Cleverly also announced tougher rules on foreign workers bringing dependants with them to the UK.
Tougher rules for foreign students bringing dependants to the UK were announced earlier in 2023.
This resulted in a surge in Indian students bringing their spouses and children ahead of a ban on January 1, 2024.
In his statement, Mr Cleverly announced that it is also increasing the minimum income for family visas to the same threshold.
This means that the dependants must also earn £38,700.
The Home Secretary says this will ensure “people only bring dependants whom they can support financially”.
According to government data, there were 75,717 family-related visas granted by the UK government in the year ending June 2023 – more than double the previous year.
The immigration health surcharge in 2023 will also rise by 66%, going from £624 to £1,035.
Paying this surcharge is what gives migrants to the UK access to the NHS.
Mr Cleverly says this will raise around £1.3 billion yearly for the health service.
Mr Cleverly said the rules will mean that more than 300,000 people who came to the UK in 2022, would now not be able to.
He added: “Enough is enough.”
The changes come after it was revealed in November 2023 that net migration hit a record high in 2022.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the number was 745,000 people, much higher than originally thought after experts revised previous estimates.
And in the 12 months up to June 2023, net migration added 672,000 to the UK population.
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