That this House recognises the vital contribution of Skilled Worker visa holders to the UK economy and public services, including sectors facing critical shortages such as health, engineering, and social care; notes that these individuals pay taxes, contribute to their communities, and have no recourse to public funds; further notes that they came to the UK in good faith on the clear understanding that five years of work and residence would provide a pathway to indefinite leave to remain (ILR), and many built lives in the UK on this basis; expresses concern that retrospective changes to this pathway would undermine confidence in the immigration system, damage the UK’s international reputation, and risk exacerbating skills shortages; and therefore calls on the Government to retain the five-year ILR pathway for all existing Skilled Worker visa holders.

That this House recognises the vital contribution of Skilled Worker visa holders to the UK economy and public services, including sectors facing critical shortages such as health, engineering, and social care; notes that these individuals pay taxes, contribute to their communities, and have no recourse to public funds; further notes...

That this House notes that, as a result of changes introduced by the Government via secondary legislation on 1 July 2025, as of 22 July 2025 the list of occupations eligible for the Skilled Worker Visa was significantly narrowed, with around 180 occupations removed from the list; further notes that the impact of these changes is that employers are no longer able to sponsor workers for the Skilled Worker Visa in any occupations that are no longer eligible, even those already employed with other visas, such as graduate visas; recognises that the occupations removed from the eligible list include Rail Travel Assistant and that some rail workers employed at Transport for London and on the railway are no longer able to be sponsored for a Skilled Worker Visa so will therefore be required to leave the UK when their current visa expires; is concerned at the pace with which these changes were implemented, with a lack of any provision for transitional arrangements for workers already employed in the UK; further recognises that, while the Government has instructed the Migration and Advisory Committee to undertake a review of occupations for the Temporary Shortage List, this is not expected to be completed for a year; and calls on the Government to pause these changes to visa eligibility rules until a thorough review and consultation, including with trade unions, of the potential impacts on workforce staffing, shortages and skills has been undertaken.

That this House notes that, as a result of changes introduced by the Government via secondary legislation on 1 July 2025, as of 22 July 2025 the list of occupations eligible for the Skilled Worker Visa was significantly narrowed, with around 180 occupations removed from the list; further notes that...

That this House believes that migrant health and care workers on Tier 2 visas play an essential role in the delivery of UK health and care services; recognises that current rules tie these workers to a single employer, and that if a worker loses their job they may face financial hardship, debt, lost investment and the possibility that their partner will also lose the right to work; further believes that the dependency on a single employer creates a significant power imbalance; notes that it also contributes to potentially exploitative and unsafe working conditions, with workers reluctant to report concerns for fear of retaliation or deportation; further notes that employers may exploit these fears by making unfair demands, and that many migrant workers report feeling trapped in bonded servitude with constant job insecurity; acknowledges the negative impact that this situation can have on mental health and wellbeing; agrees that migrant workers deserve the freedom to change employers within the sector; supports UNISON’s campaign for a Certificate of Common Sponsorship for health and care workers on Tier 2 visas as a way of breaking the exclusive link between a single employer and a worker’s visa status; and calls on the Government to begin the process of introducing such as scheme as part of the overall drive to reform and improve the social care sector.

That this House believes that migrant health and care workers on Tier 2 visas play an essential role in the delivery of UK health and care services; recognises that current rules tie these workers to a single employer, and that if a worker loses their job they may face financial...

That this House notes the importance of affordable childcare to enable parents, especially mothers, to work; further notes the important contribution of migrants to the economy; welcomes the intention behind the expansion of childcare support for working parents which is currently being rolled out; also notes however that this support is not available equally to all working parents even where they are working the same hours for the same wages; is concerned about the difficulty this creates for excluded families due to the high costs of childcare; and calls on the Government to amend its support scheme so that all parents working the requisite number of hours and earning the requisite salary can access 30 hours of funded childcare, regardless of their immigration status.

That this House notes the importance of affordable childcare to enable parents, especially mothers, to work; further notes the important contribution of migrants to the economy; welcomes the intention behind the expansion of childcare support for working parents which is currently being rolled out; also notes however that this support...

That this House is concerned that the latest Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 556, which will prevent overseas care workers from bringing their dependants to the UK and makes substantial changes to the Ukraine schemes, will have a negative impact on migrant families; notes in particular that the changes will likely force carers into acquiescing to exploitative conditions at work or plunge them into destitution; recognises the importance of family members to carers often carrying out low-paid but crucial work in the UK’s social care sector; further notes with concern the lack of opportunity for the abrupt changes to the Ukraine schemes to have been scrutinised properly within the usual 21-day period before implementation; further recognises the stress and harm that the changes will cause by separating Ukrainian families, particularly where one or more family members are left behind in Ukraine; also notes the harm that will be caused by no longer permitting Ukrainian nationals to sponsor family members under the Homes for Ukraine scheme; and calls on the Home Office to properly tackle migrant worker exploitation and urgently reconsider its changes to the Ukraine schemes.

That this House is concerned that the latest Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 556, which will prevent overseas care workers from bringing their dependants to the UK and makes substantial changes to the Ukraine schemes, will have a negative impact on migrant families; notes in particular that the...

This House commends the Researchers at Risk scheme instituted by the British Academy in partnership with the Council for At-Risk Academics and with support from the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society; notes that the scheme was funded primarily by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is currently restricted to Ukrainian academics and their families; observes that every higher education institution in Gaza has been destroyed or severely damaged during the war waged by the Israeli government in the wake of the horrific terror attacks of 7 October 2023; deplores that an estimated 30,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza in this time, including historians, economists, scholars of English literature and language, poets, physicists, gynaecologists, political scientists, psychologists, surgeons and lawyers; believes the academic community in Gaza is currently one of the most at risk in the world; and therefore calls on the UK Government to provide specific protection by renewing the funding for the Researchers at Risk scheme and opening it to Palestinian academics immediately and without delay.

This House commends the Researchers at Risk scheme instituted by the British Academy in partnership with the Council for At-Risk Academics and with support from the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society; notes that the scheme was funded primarily by the Department for...

That this House notes the recent report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Independent which identified issues of racism, wage theft and threats of being sent back home in 19 farm inspection reports produced by the Home Office between 2021 and 2022; recognises that migrant seasonal workers are integral to the UK’s horticultural sector and that working conditions under the seasonal worker visa must urgently be improved; further recognises that the current iteration of the seasonal worker visa is due to expire at the end of 2024 and that improvements to working conditions must be implemented before any decision to extend the scheme is made; calls on the Government to urgently complete and publish a review of the seasonal worker visa scheme in line with the recommendations that it accepted by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in the report entitled An inspection of the immigration system as it relates to the agricultural sector, published in December 2022; further calls on the Government to implement the recommendations on the seasonal worker visa scheme of the report by the House of Lords Select Committee on Horticulture entitled Sowing the seeds: A blooming English horticultural sector (November 2023); and calls on the Government to engage with independent civil society organisations advocating for the rights of migrant seasonal workers in the recently formed Seasonal Worker Interest Group to address the design-related issues from the seasonal workers visa scheme.

That this House notes the recent report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Independent which identified issues of racism, wage theft and threats of being sent back home in 19 farm inspection reports produced by the Home Office between 2021 and 2022; recognises that migrant seasonal workers are...