British Home Secretary Suella Braverman attends the weekly government cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, May 23, 2023.
Leon Neal | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON – Net migration to the UK hit a record high of 606,000 in 2022, despite the government’s pledge to reduce the figure.
Figures released by the country’s National Statistics Office on Thursday showed non-EU nationals accounted for 925,000 long-term entrants, while 151,000 were from the EU.
Reducing net migration was a pledge of the ruling Conservative Party in its 2019 election manifesto, when the figure was 226,000. Previous figures released in November showed net migration of 504,000 in the year to June.
The government stressed that many of the recent arrivals were refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. Compared to the previous year, the proportion of people arriving by humanitarian route will increase from 9% to 19% by 2022.
Legal immigration is a contentious issue within the Conservative Party.It comes as the government seeks to boost tepid economic growth and ease Tightness In the labor market, this has created challenges for businesses and pushed up wages amid stubbornly high inflation.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he wants net migration below 500,000, about where he was when he took office last fall.
However, he clashed with the more hawkish Interior Secretary, Suella Braverman, over some proposed measures to lower the numbers. Sunak also stressed that migrant workers were vital to sectors including the National Health Service.
In a speech earlier this month, Braverman said: “It is not xenophobia that mass and rapid migration is unsustainable in terms of housing provision, services and community relations.” People should fill jobs that are in short supply, like truck drivers, butchers, and fruit pickers.
new restrictions
On Tuesday, Braverman’s department announced restrictions on student visas, the UK’s largest source of immigration. Under the new rules, only graduate students will be able to bring family members to the country.
The Home Office also said it would ban people from “using student visas as a backdoor route to work in the UK” by preventing them from switching visa types until their studies have been completed and by checking their proof of funds.
The government says it can control its borders and fill labor market gaps under its post-Brexit points-based immigration system.
From 2025, even visitors to the UK from the EU and other countries including the US Electronic visas will be required for entry, with the government acknowledging that precise figures for arrivals and departures are not currently available.
“not fit for purpose”
Yet workers in many industries say they are grappling with hiring challenges exacerbated by Brexit.
Raj Sehgal, chief executive of Norfolk-based nursing home group Armscare, told CNBC that vacancies in the sector hit a record high last year, with more than 165,000 vacancies, coupled with growing demand for services and post-Covid burnout.
He said it was difficult to attract young domestic workers to rural areas, where many care homes are located, while Brexit and the weaker pound made Britain less attractive for EU workers.
“The whole process of hiring migrant workers is totally not fit for purpose and not conducive to employers who want to grow and expand their economies,” Sehgal said.
“It’s complicated and expensive … for workers it requires a long and complicated process to get a sponsor, and for employers there is a cost burden such as the immigration skills surcharge is not just a tax on employment. “
CNBC has asked the Interior Department for comment on the new data.