'Quick fix' work visas will keep immigration high for the rest of decade

NET migration remain to Britain will 250,000 and between 350,000 people a year by the end of the decade, experts warn.

- Steph Spyro

Visas for health and social care workers and low-skilled manual employees will continue to keep the figures high despite pledges from politicians to lower the numbers coming into the UK, researchers predict.

But the number of arrivals is likely to fall sharply from the record high of 606,000 people last year, the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics will say in a report that is due out today.

Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory, said: "One of the striking findings is that if current trends continue, work visas look set to be the largest factor shaping overall net migration by some distance.

"Work-related migration has mostly been driven by health and care. So future migration patterns will be particularly sensitive to developments in that sector."

Record

The war in Ukraine and people arriving from Hong Kong under resettlement schemes are said to have contributed to the latest record as well.

Tory MPs have called for an end to immigration being used as a "sticking plaster" to fix gaps in Britain's workforce.

Around 11.5% of businesses were experiencing worker shortages as of January, Office for National Statistics figures last month showed.

Tory MP Marco Longhi said: "UK business and governments have always rushed for that sticking plaster called immigration to fix gaps in labour market supply.

"All this has done is to address short-term issues rather than the long-term structural issues in the market.

"Indeed, this approach has made productivity worse. It has accentuated the unbalanced economy we have and it has made parts of our economy addicted to this quick fix.