Recent moves to reduce legal immigration to the United Kingdom and Australia suggest that some high-income countries are interested in a broader hardening of their borders. Starting this month, international students heading to the United Kingdom will no longer be able to bring their family members, unless they are in postgraduate research programs. In coming months, immigrant care workers will similarly be barred from bringing family dependents, the minimum income to bring a foreign spouse into the country will more than double from GBP 18,600 (U.S. $23,780) to GBP 38,700 (U.S. $49,470), and foreign-born workers will need to earn at least GBP 38,700 to qualify for an employment visa (up from GBP 26,200 [U.S. $33,490]), although there will be some exceptions in needed sectors. “Together, we expect this package to reduce inflows by up to 300,000, the largest reduction ever,” the Home Office predicted in a December press release. The changes followed the revelation that immigration drove a record population increase of 745,000 in 2022—an inconvenient fact for a British government that has since 2010 set a net migration target of no more than 100,000 annually. Around the same time on the other side of the world, Australia announced plans to tighten visa rules for international students and low-paid workers. The plan is designed to streamline high-skilled immigration and reduce the country’s reliance on temporary workers. It would result in approximately halving by 2025 the number of new immigrants (which reached 510,000 last year), officials said, in what would be a return to more historical averages. Elsewhere, there are further signs of growing concern about immigration levels. France’s controversial new immigration law, which was backed by the far right, restricts immigrants’ access to social benefits and sets a cap on new arrivals, among other changes. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said last month that his country’s record net migration of 119,000 “doesn’t feel sustainable” and suggested policy tweaks could be upcoming. Over the last few years, Canada has been vocal about its desire to increase immigration. While it intends to continue welcoming 485,000 new permanent residents this year and 500,000 in 2025, the government foresees arrivals leveling off after that. It is unclear how many countries will make dramatic changes to slow family-, student-, and employment-based immigration. But the recent changes demonstrate that governments are willing to reduce some immigration levels in the face of political pressures, economic troubles, and other factors. Getting immigration levels just right remains as much a moving target as ever. Best regards, Julian Hattem
Editor, Migration Information Source
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