Despite pledge to cut numbers, total allowed to stay will soon hit 700,000
RISHI Sunak has said he is “unequivocal” that legal immigration numbers need to fall amid a Cabinet row over cracking down on foreign graduate visas.
The Prime Minister admitted that the number of people coming to live in the UK is “too high” with net migration currently at 504,000.
Ministers are braced for the figure to rocket to 700,000 this week when the latest official statistics are released.
But Mr Sunak failed to say how he would bring numbers down when asked at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
He also dodged a question about a crackdown on foreign graduate visas. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor are said to be resisting calls to scale back the right of students to stay for two years after they graduate despite concern it is open to abuse.
Professor Brian Bell, the chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, said it warned the Government five years ago – when the two-year visa was introduced – that it could offer a back door for graduates to remain in low-skilled work of little benefit to the economy.
It helped to bring about a 10-fold increase in foreign students bringing dependents into the UK. Since 2018, the number of postgraduate dependents has risen from 16,000 to 135,000. There are also 73,000 students on graduate visas – all this despite a Tory manifesto pledge to reduce immigration.
It is understood that Home Secretary Suella Braverman wants to restrict such visas but has faced opposition from No10, the Treasury and the Department for Education.
Mr Sunak said: “I made it crystal clear. I think the numbers are too high and I’m committed to bringing them down without getting into specific measures.”