Mass migration is unsustainable and unfair on the British people, which is why earlier in the year the Government introduced the toughest-ever reforms to our migration system that will cut the number of people coming to the UK by 300,000 every year.
Our plan is working, with new data for January – March 2024 showing that the numbers of people coming in on the three biggest visa routes – Skilled Worker, Health and Care, and Study – are down 24 per cent compared to the same period last year. Additionally, thanks to the Government’s removal of the right to bring dependants on the student visa route for those other than on postgraduate research programmes, the latest data has shown a nearly 80% fall in student-dependant numbers in the first quarter of 2024, compared with the first three months of 2023.
Delivery of this comprehensive series of measures comes as the Government cracks down on rising migration, both legal and illegal. The plan is working, with small boat crossings down by around a third last year, and work continuing to tackle this global challenge including working with international partners and clamping down on the criminal gangs with stepped-up enforcement.
Now that the Safety of Rwanda Act has passed, after months of delay from Labour and their members in the House of Lords, we can now start the process of sending the first flights of illegal migrants to Rwanda and deter people from coming illegally in the first place.
There will be no further delays. We will do the final training of caseworkers, conduct the case-file reviews and detain the first cohort of migrants for removal. We will send the first flight to Rwanda in 10-12 weeks, with multiple flights every month over the summer and beyond until the boats are stopped.
In contrast to the Conservatives, Labour has voted against tougher measures to tackle illegal immigration 139 times and has voted to block, delay or weaken our plan to stop the boats 126 times. If they ever got into Government Labour would scrap the Rwanda plan even if it deters the number of small boat crossings and replace it with an open-door approach that would result in an extra 250,000 migrants coming to Britain, every year.
We cannot risk going back to square one with Labour and uncontrolled immigration. Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives are sticking with the plan to build a fairer immigration system and stop the boats and they have my full support in doing so.
The number of students bringing family members and dependants to the UK was too high.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 1, 2024
This wasn't fair.
Our changes are working – student dependant numbers are now down by 80%. pic.twitter.com/JPR3CD0O9Z
This column was first published in The Forester newspaper.
