PM and home secretary expected to outline changes to rules at Friday cabinet meeting

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Boris Johnson and Priti Patel are expected to outline immigration changes at a cabinet meeting on Friday.

The prime minister and home secretary’s measures will include a drop in the salary threshold for some migrants, the BBC reported.

As the legislation stands, skilled migrants from outside the EU must have a job offer with a minimum salary of £30,000. It is understood that this threshold will be lowered to £25,600.

Workers from EU countries will be subject to the same rules once the transition period for leaving the bloc ends on 31 December.

Workers earning less might still be able to get a visa to work in the UK if they work in a sector with a skills shortage. Speaking good English or having a strong educational background could also count towards getting a visa.

Last month a union said putting up barriers to hiring staff from overseas in an overhaul of the immigration system would cause “huge difficulties” in social care.

Unison’s assistant general secretary, Christina McAnea, said the UK’s immigration system had “got to work for social care” but the latest recommendations would not “allow a single care worker to come to the UK”.

The government’s migration advisory committee said the proposals were “not perfect” and there were “unavoidable, difficult trade-offs”, adding: “The largest impacts will be in low-wage sectors and the government needs to be clear about its plans for lower-skilled work migration.”

McAnea said: “The sector is already in crisis. Placing barriers to recruitment from overseas would cause it huge difficulties. Nor would the government’s idea of a one-year visa be any better. By the time care staff have arrived and settled into their jobs, it’d be time for them to leave.

“All their experience and training would be lost, and migrant workers would face uncertainty and instability. The elderly and vulnerable people they support would also be left anxious and have their care disrupted.”

Johnson promised during the election campaign to introduce a points-based immigration scheme, based on Australia’s, for when the EU freedom of movement rules end.

Under the EU rules, workers from the European Union and European Economic Area countries can come to the UK to live or work without a visa.