Migrants coming to live and work in Britain will be expected to speak much better English under a bold new crackdown from Sir Keir Starmer‘s Labour government.
In a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system to be unveiled in a white paper next week, ministers will demand that overseas workers meet a significantly higher standard of English before being granted a UK visa.
At present, migrants only need to show a basic grasp of the language – equivalent to a GCSE-level qualification but this is now seen as far too low to allow proper integration into British society.
The new proposals will increase the requirement to a far more advanced level, comparable to A-level standard, where applicants must be able to speak fluently and write confidently on complex issues.
The move comes as Labour faces mounting pressure to tackle Britain’s record net migration, which hit 728,000 last year.
The government also wants to get more than 9 million people who are currently out of work in the UK back into jobs.
Sources say that under the new plans, migrants will be told in no uncertain terms: if you want to come to Britain, you must contribute – and that means learning the language and embracing British values.
Migrants coming to live and work in Britain will be expected to speak much better English under a bold new crackdown from Sir Keir Starmer ‘s Labour government
In a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system to be unveiled in a white paper next week, ministers will demand that overseas workers meet a significantly higher standard of English before being granted a UK visa (stock)
It is understood that successful asylum seekers will also need to meet the higher English standard before they can apply for permanent settlement – usually after five years.
The upcoming immigration blueprint will also set out tougher checks on English knowledge and is expected to include measures to ensure new arrivals are aligned with ‘British values’ such as democracy, religious tolerance and respect for the law. But ministers are still working on how this will be tested in practice.
Currently, questions about UK values only appear in the ‘Life in the UK’ test, which migrants take after living in the country for several years.
In a further move to cut the country’s dependency on overseas workers, British employers will be told to prioritise training home-grown talent.
Industries facing labour shortages, including engineering, tech and construction – will be ordered to boost apprenticeship numbers or risk losing access to foreign staff.
Each sector will be given specific workforce plans, overseen by relevant departments, aimed at ramping up skills and recruitment within the UK.
The shake-up is also expected to include a frank admission by the Prime Minister that the points-based immigration system introduced after Brexit has failed to deliver what was promised
The shake-up is also expected to include a frank admission by the Prime Minister that the points-based immigration system introduced after Brexit has failed to deliver what was promised.
A senior government insider told The Times that the plans will ‘take tighter control to deliver a system that is controlled, selective and fair’.
But the plans have already been dismissed by the Conservatives as too little, too late.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp hit out at Labour’s approach, branding it ‘cosmetic tinkering’ that won’t stop immigration from spiralling.
‘Labour will once again be tinkering with the system via another cosmetic announcement which will make very little practical difference.
‘If they were serious about getting immigration down they would back the Conservative proposals which we will be pressing in the Commons on Monday: an annual binding vote in parliament to set a migration cap, repealing the Human Rights Act from immigration matters to end absurd claims in UK courts, and raising the migrant salary threshold across the board.’
It comes as spending watchdogs warns that asylum accommodation – including hotels – will cost the taxpayer £15billion over 10 years.
The overall bill is more than triple the Home Office’s original estimate, data from the National Audit Office (NAO) showed.
Contracts were originally forecast to cost £4.5billion over a decade from 2019 but are now expected to run to £15.3billion over same period, after the Channel crisis exploded.
It means that on average the taxpayer will spend £4,191,780 a day on housing asylum seekers over the life of the contracts.
A separate breakdown from the NAO showed overall costs in 2024-25 were £1.67billion.
That amounted to £4,567,123 a day on average, or £3,172 a minute.
Asylum hotels ‘may be more profitable’ for companies holding the contracts than other types of housing, the government’s official auditors said.
The Home Office awarded the contracts to three suppliers – Clearsprings Ready Homes, Mears Group and Serco – which operate two or three UK regions each.
