UK Announces Stricter Visa Measures To Reduce Migration

Published

2 years ago

December 4, 2023

The UK has announced it would raise the minimum salary threshold for a skilled worker visa and prevent overseas health and social care staff from bringing family dependents to Britain.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office trumpeted the proposals as “the biggest clampdown on legal migration ever”.

But critics said it would damage the state-run National Health Service (NHS), which faces staff shortages.

Immigration is set to be a key issue in nationwide elections that must be held by January 2025 at the latest, and which the main opposition Labour party is currently favoured to win.

Sunak has pledged to reduce new arrivals and has been under pressure ever since statistics released last month showed that net migration to Britain hit a high in 2022.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of people who arrived in Britain last year was 745,000 more than the number who left.

Interior minister James Cleverly said his plan would result in 300,000 fewer people coming to the UK in the coming years.

“Enough is enough,” the home secretary told parliament as he laid out his proposals, which will take effect early next year.

Cleverly said skilled foreign workers wanting a UK visa would have to earn £38,700 ($48,860), up from £26,200 and in line with the median full-time wage.

He exempted health and social care workers, but said they would be prevented from bringing family dependents.

NHS Providers, which represents hospital groups in England, said changes that might deter care workers from coming to the UK were “deeply concerning”.

Care England, a charity representing independent adult social care providers, said immigration had been “saving the social care sector”. Staff shortages have been exacerbated by Brexit.

Cleverly also raised the minimum income for family visas to £38,700 and confirmed restrictions on international students bringing dependents.

He reaffirmed that Britain would increase the surcharge that migrants pay to access the NHS by 66 percent, to £1,035.

Critics have said this effectively imposes a double charge on migrant workers, as employees also pay National Insurance charges, which go towards covering healthcare.

Do or die

Cleverly added that the government would reform the “shortage occupation list”, which details jobs for which employers are not able to find enough British workers.

The Conservatives won a landslide under the leadership of Boris Johnson at the last election in 2019, largely on a promise to bring net migration numbers down.

The party has repeatedly promised that leaving the European Union, which ended the free movement of people from member states, would allow the UK to “take back control” of its borders.

But regular migration has soared since Britain formally left the EU in January 2020. In 2021, net migration was 488,000.

The ONS data piled pressure on Sunak from his own MPs to take action, with some right-wingers arguing that the issue was “do or die” for the party.

In opinion polls, the Tories, in power since 2010, lag well behind centre-left Labour, which also claims regular migration is too high.

Labour’s home affairs spokesperson Yvette Cooper accused the Conservatives of being in a “chaotic panic” over immigration.

“Today’s statement is an admission of years of total failure by this Conservative government,” she told parliament.

Sunak is also struggling to cut the number of irregular arrivals crossing the Channel from northern France on small boats.

About 30,000 have undertaken the dangerous crossing this year.

The government has deemed such crossings illegal but its much-trumpeted plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda was struck down by the courts last month.

Cleverly is due to visit Kigali soon, possibly this week, to finalise a new treaty. The government has also said it is working on “emergency legislation” to get deportation flights going by spring.

British Family Accused Of Boarding Dead Grandmother On EasyJet Flight

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

A British family has been accused of trying to board a dead relative onto an EasyJet flight from Málaga, Spain, to London Gatwick on Thursday, passengers said.

The woman, reportedly 89 years old, was wheeled onto the plane by five family members, who told airline staff she was unwell and had fallen asleep.

Witnesses said the woman was pushed in a wheelchair to the rear of the plane and lifted into her seat. Some claimed they overheard a family member tell a boarding clerk, “It’s OK, she’s just tired,” adding, “It’s OK, we’re doctors.”

Just before takeoff, the cabin crew realized the woman had died, and the plane was turned around, delaying the flight by 12 hours.

Petra Boddington, a passenger, said: “easyJet, when did you start letting dead people onto planes? Seriously!” Another, Tracy-Ann Kitching, added: “I saw her being wheeled onto the plane; someone was holding her head as they passed me! A doctor on board confirmed that was already dead when they sat her down.”

EasyJet has denied that a deceased person boarded the plane. The airline said the passenger had a fit-to-fly certificate and was alive when she boarded.

“The flight returned to the stand prior to take-off due to a customer on board requiring urgent medical assistance. The flight was met by emergency services, but sadly the customer passed away,” a spokesperson said.

The Guardia Civil in Málaga confirmed officers attended the aircraft, and the woman was declared dead on board. No arrests have been made.

Headline

Russian Strike On Odesa Region Kills Eight, Injures 27

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has reported at least eight people killed and 27 others injured on Friday night after a Russian ballistic missile strike hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the attack targeted port infrastructure facilities in the town of Pivdenne, near Odesa, and damaged nearby civilian vehicles.

The strike came one week after much of Odesa was left without power, heat, and water following a “severe” aerial assault.

“Some of the injured were on a bus that was at the epicenter of the shelling. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged,” the State Emergency Service said.

Emergency officials said the deaths occurred at a port infrastructure facility. Medical teams and first responders were deployed after the strike, but their work was disrupted by “ongoing air raid alerts,” according to Oleh Kiper, head of Odesa’s regional administration.

Russia has carried out repeated attacks on Odesa in recent days, damaging port facilities, civilian vessels, and key infrastructure.

Two major bridges linking the northern and southern parts of the Odesa region have also been hit, with repairs under way, Kiper said.

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported a “massive” drone attack on the southern Mykolayiv region, which damaged civilian infrastructure and vehicles. No casualties were reported.

Odesa, Ukraine’s largest seaport and a major hub in the Black Sea region, has been a frequent target since the start of the war.

Last week, civilian, energy, and industrial sites in the city suffered extensive damage after what regional officials described as “one of the enemy’s most severe airstrikes,” leaving many areas without power and water.

Russia’s Defence Ministry has not commented on the attack.

Speaking hours before the strike during his annual Direct Line call-in show, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was yet to “see Ukraine’s readiness for peace”.

“[Russia] is ready for negotiations and for ending the conflict via peaceful means,” Putin said, adding that it was up to Russia’s “Western opponents” to end the war.

(CNN)

Headline

Aircraft Crashes In Owerri With Four Persons Onboard

Published

1 week ago

December 17, 2025

Editor

Photo: File copy

A Cessna 172 aircraft with registration number 5N-ASR, operated by Skypower Express, has crashed at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, Imo State.

The aircraft had departed Kaduna International Airport en route to Port Harcourt International Airport before diverting to Owerri after the crew declared an emergency.

The crash occurred at about 8:00 pm on the airport premises, with four passengers and crew members onboard.

Confirming the incident, the Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, said the agency had been notified of the crash.

According to the NSIB, the aircraft crashed on the approach area of Runway 17, but no fatalities have been recorded so far.

The statement said: “Following the occurrence, airport emergency services were successfully activated and arrived on site promptly. Reports indicate that there was no post-crash fire, and the runway remains active for flight operations, with other aircraft taking off safely after the incident.

“Efforts are currently underway to coordinate the recovery and evacuation of the distressed aircraft from the crash site to allow for a detailed wreckage examination.”

The NSIB said it has officially activated its investigation protocols in line with its statutory mandate

The Director-General of NSIB, Capt. Alex Badeh Jr., sympathised with the management of Skypower Express over the incident and expressed relief that no lives were lost.

Badeh Jr. added that the Bureau’s investigation team is already coordinating with relevant authorities to secure the crash site and commence a detailed investigation into the cause of the accident.

Two days ago, 11 persons narrowly escaped death as a private jet crash-landed at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Sunday morning.

The occupants, including passengers and cabin crew, were safely evacuated amid an intense atmosphere, eyewitnesses told The Guardian.

The private jet, owned by Flybird Aviation, crash-landed at about 9:30 a.m. while approaching Kano Airport en route to Abuja.

The incident attracted urgent attention, with emergency staff and other stakeholders converging at the runway to render rescue operations.

The management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is yet to release an official statement on the incident. Unofficial sources disclosed that the passengers have been taken to an unknown destination.

Several aircraft incidents have occurred at Kano Airport, with several lives lost.

The last incident occurred in May 2002, when an EAS Airline aircraft departed the runway at Aminu Kano International Airport at 1:29 p.m. local time en route to Lagos.