Visas: Highly Skilled People

Lord Hintze Excerpts

Wednesday 26th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lemos (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question. She is asking about the partners of highly skilled people being required to earn settlement in their own right, as part of plans announced by the Home Secretary last week. As my noble friend referred to, those plans are currently subject to a public consultation. She asks for a commitment to look again. We will, of course, consider the responses to the consultation carefully and in the round before announcing the Government’s next steps, and we will be particularly concerned to avoid some of the unintended consequences that have beset immigration policy in the past.

[Lord Hintze (Con)]

My Lords, have the Government looked at the counterfactual of people leaving these shores, specifically in medical, economic and finance areas, and what that means for our economy? If not, why not?

[Lord Lemos (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for that question. The Government look at all this in the round. As I think everyone in your Lordship’s House knows, the overall intention is to reduce net migration, but we are committed to the high skills routes and I am very happy to provide more detail on that later. We will continue to measure not only the incomers but the net effect.