'Absolute astonishment' The strict immigration plans announced by Keir Starmer - including citizenship rules

Sir Keir Starmer says his government will “finally take back control of our borders”, as he unveiled stricter immigration regulations.

The Prime Minister has unveiled his white paper to overhaul the “broken” immigration. He said without controls “we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together”.

The proposals will see every area of immigration tightened up, which the Prime Minister says will result in a “significant” drop in net migration.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks on the phone to US President Donald Trump during a visit to the West Midlands. Photo: Alberto Pezzali/PA Wire | Alberto Pezzali/Press Association

Have migration levels gone up?

This comes after net migration “quadrupled” under the previous Conservative government between 2019 and 2023, reaching a record high of almost one million in 2023.

Sir Keir said: “That’s not control, it’s chaos.”

READ MORE: 'Disruptive' change needed to Scotland's housing system, leading economist warns

He branded the previous government’s handling of immigration as a “one nation experiment” on open borders, adding: “You can’t do something like that by accident, it was a choice.”

The Prime Minister said: “We are shutting down the lab - the experiment is over.”

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The immigration changes announced

Proposals on this include raising skill requirements to degree level, introducing an English language requirement for all immigrants including dependents, and extending the time to apply for citizenship from five years to ten years.

Over the weekend, UK home secretary Yvette Cooper said her government would be offering 50,000 less low-skilled worker visas and ending care worker visas.

Those who are in the UK on a care worker visa can have this extended, but Ms Cooper argued employers should be recruiting from this pool rather than looking overseas.

The white paper has already been condemned by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, who said she listened with “absolute astonishment” to the proposals.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes | PA

She told the BBC: “With a small population of about five million people, Scotland needs a distinct immigration system, a distinct approach to the immigration system - we have shared that with the UK government.

“But you talk about restrictions to care workers, which I think is absolutely baffling to anybody currently working in the care sector, talking about restrictions for university students being able to stay on after their degrees, when we know so much of Scotland’s economic growth has come from international students that have chosen to be based in Scotland.

“Our approach remains that if the UK government is not going to do it, then Scotland needs a distinct approach to an immigration system, a Scottish visa or otherwise.”

Settled status

Migrants will now need to spend a full 10 years in the UK before they can apply for citizenship. Currently they only need to spend five years.

However, “high contributing” individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, said this is unlikely to significantly reduce migration numbers as there is “no evidence” this affects a person’s decision to immigrate to the UK.

Skilled worker visas

The standards for a skilled worker visa will be increased, meaning migrants will need a university degree before they can get this type of visa.

There will also be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

English language

There will now be new English language requirements on all immigrants coming into the UK, including dependents.

This will have more of an impact on migration numbers, as more than half of the skilled worker visas over the past few years went to dependents, who often have less English language skills.

Care worker visas

Care worker visas will be closed, meaning employers will no longer be able to recruit directly from overseas.

Currently to qualify for this type of visa, a person must have a sponsorship certificate from their employer which details the role they are being offered in the UK.

However the home secretary says there are 10,000 people in the UK who came to the country on a care worker visa and had their sponsorship cancelled - she says they will have their visas extended and employers should recruit from this pool rather than looking overseas.

The Royal College of Nursing says the plans are about “pandering and scapegoating” and says the UK Government has “no plan to grow a domestic workforce”.