We’re not targeting Kenya migrants, UK says amid new visa rules
Amid growing concerns among Kenyans in the UK over the tightening of immigration rules, the British High Commission in Nairobi on Tuesday said London is not scrapping the migration deal between the two countries.
“There are no country-specific measures, and reports about the termination of a UK-Kenya migration deal are inaccurate. No such deal exists,” the High Commission said in a statement.
On Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled an immigration white paper, highlighting sweeping changes aimed at tightening the UK’s immigration system and ending what he termed as “Britain’s open borders experiment.”
Among the proposed reforms is the termination of the care worker visa, which would impact countries such as Kenya, whose citizens seek employment in the UK’s health and care sectors.
The high commission said that the changes are not targeting a specific country, but rather seeking to tighten the immigration system in general.
The proposed changes have yet to be implemented.
“When the measures are introduced, they will tighten visa rules for students and individuals seeking to work in the UK, including raising skill requirements. We will share further details in due course,” the statement said.
The care worker visa route, introduced in 2022 to address a severe shortage of care staff, has allowed tens of thousands of workers from countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, India, and the Philippines to work in the UK.
In 2021, Kenya signed a bilateral labour agreement with London, allowing Kenyan care workers to migrate to the UK to work in the health sector.
They signed a memorandum of understanding to send 20,000 nurses to UK hospitals, in an attempt to improve the welfare of its migrant workers overseas.
The first group of 19 nurses left for the UK in 2022, having been selected from 3,329 applicants. A second group of 76 nurses left in 2023 and were placed in various hospitals across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Subsequently, the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) began offering English training to nurses to meet the terms of the bilateral agreement.
This training programme aims to enhance the English proficiency of nurses, accounting for 30 percent of KMTC’s 12,000-strong student body, thereby rendering them more “internationally competitive,” according to then Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe.
The minister said that Kenya would only send nurses who had not yet found employment in the local labour market.
To be eligible to work in the UK under the programme, an individual must be a Kenyan citizen and hold a diploma or bachelor’s degree in nursing that is recognised in Kenya.
Health workers must also be registered and licensed by the Nursing Council of Kenya and hold a police clearance certificate.
Successful applicants must undergo training before leaving for the UK, as well as passing the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the Occupational English Test (OET) and the Computer-Based Test (CBT).
Under the new policy, current care workers will be able to extend their visas during a transitional period, but the route will be fully closed to new entrants by 2028.
London says this will encourage investment in domestic training and help raise wages in the sector.
Other announced reforms include extending the period required for an immigrant living in Britain to acquire citizenship from five to 10 years. But individuals who can demonstrate a significant economic or social contribution will be permitted to apply after five years.
UK will also raise the immigration skills charge — a fee that employers pay when hiring overseas workers on skilled visas — by 32 percent.
International students will only be permitted to work in Britain for 18 months, down from two years at present.
The UK will also introduce tougher English language requirements for visa routes, requiring adult dependents to demonstrate basic English skills.
The final reform under review is the use of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to family life. The ruling party says that this article has been too loosely interpreted by judges and immigration tribunals, allowing people with weak asylum claims or criminal records to avoid removal.
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