Women with children, and smaller, regional businesses will be hardest hit by plans to slash immigration to the UK, according to trade groups and migration experts, who warn that aspects of the policy are likely to be challenged in the courts.

Rishi Sunak’s government on Monday set out measures to regain the political initiative by cutting inflows by 300,000 people a year, after official data showed net legal migration hit a record 745,000 in 2022.

The biggest surprise in the changes was a sharp increase — from £18,600 to £38,700 — in the minimum salary that British citizens or migrants already settled in the UK must earn in order for immediate relatives to join them…

But Sumption, who also sits on the MAC [Migration Advisory Committee], warned that care employers, who had been hiring qualified nurses from overseas to fill entry-level roles, might struggle in future to attract applications from such highly skilled candidates.

Restricting dependants could also “make care workers in the UK more isolated”, she said, depriving them of the support from a partner “that can help workers to escape exploitative situations”…

…the thresholds will pose a big problem for small regional businesses — already deterred by Home Office visa fees and charges — in sectors where employers have been struggling to fill critical positions…

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