New Immigration measures announced

In his first speech on immigration since the election, the Prime Minister has announced sweeping new measures to try and reduce migrant numbers and tackle some of the immigration abuses in the area of illegal working.

Proposed immigration changes include:

• A new visa levy on businesses that use foreign labour
• Limiting sponsorship of non-EU nationals to those in occupations where there are genuine skills shortages or highly-specialist experts
• Imposing a time limit on occupations on the Shortage Occupation List
• The creation of a new offence of illegal working to close the loophole which means people who are here illegally cannot benefit from working and police will be able to seize wages as proceeds of crime
• Making it an offence for businesses and recruitment agencies to recruit abroad without first advertising in the UK
• The creation of a new labour market enforcement agency to crack down on the worst cases of labour market exploitation

We will continue to monitor developments closely and keep you informed of the details of any relevant changes and how they may affect you. Should you have any immediate questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our team.