Migration news roundup 7 July 2025

View of Houses of Parliament from bridge over river Thames

This Migration News Roundup presents a selection of news, policy, research and statistics from the previous week on migration-related topics. The contents of each story do not necessarily reflect the views of Migration Yorkshire.

UK borders and migration policy
Specific migrant groups
Cohesion and integration
International news
Stories that inspired us this week

UK borders and migration policy

Nearly 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in 2025, up 48% compared to last year. This increase is explained in various ways including people’s determination, new smuggler tactics, calmer weather conditions, escalation of global conflicts and Brexit consequences. Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are discussing a ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme where the UK will accept people they consider to have a ‘valid claim’ to be in the UK through family reunification, while others will be removed to France. (Sources: inews, the Spectator)

The government started implementing some plans proposed in the white paper affecting skilled migrants and care workers. From 22 July, employers can't bring in care workers from overseas, there will be reductions to the list of jobs eligible for a Skilled Worker Visa and an increase to the salary threshold to £41,700 per year. Also linked to the white paper proposal to double qualifying time for settlement, the government was urged by MPs with large Hong Kong populations to allow BN(O) visa holders to be able to apply for settlement after five years, as initially promised. (Sources: UK Parliament, the Standard, Sky)

Relatedly, previous changes to skilled visas failed to assess the risks of non-compliance with the visa rules and exploitation of migrant workers, according to the Public Accounts Committee. (Source: UK Parliament)

In relation to last week’s news on undocumented labour in the gig economy, food delivery firms are stepping up their security checks by using facial recognition of workers and fraud detection technology. (Source: the Guardian)

Specific migrant groups

The government announced it has closed future applications for the two Afghan resettlement programmes (ACRS and ARAP). This announcement doesn’t affect the already planned resettlement of many Afghans over the next few years and all applications received to date will continue to be processed, but makes clear the government intends to ‘finish the process and honour our obligation in full by the end of this Parliament’ with no further applications to the schemes. (Sources: Independent, UK Parliament)

In case you missed it - government confirmed asylum support will continue to be provided to avoid homelessness, whilst prioritising speeding up decision-making. The statement comes after an online petition gathered over 400,000 signatures calling for an end to all asylum support, claiming it’s an incentive for illegal migration. (Source: UK Parliament)

There are reports that Ukrainians who have claimed asylum (as a possible route to settlement in the UK) are being refused on the grounds it is ‘safe to return’ to Ukraine. (Source: the Guardian)

On children and young people, guidance for immigration staff has been updated to reflect the introduction of abbreviated age assessments by the National Age Assessment Board, to help prevent children being mistakenly treated as adults prior to a possible arrest for an immigration offence. (Source: UK Visas and Immigration)

This story of a Windrush generation descendant fighting to stay in the UK highlights the complexities of the Windrush scandal. (Source: BBC)

On international students:

This paper identifies three systemic challenges faced by asylum seeking students when accessing higher education in the UK: lack of knowledge around rights to higher education, misinformation, and the timings of offers not coordinating with scholarships. (Source: Globalisation, Societies and Education)

A conservative think tank report on reforming the international student regime calls for a stricter regime where universities ‘return to selling education, not immigration’. (Source: Policy Exchange)

On modern slavery, this new report sets out a framework which the authors recommend is used to mitigate the risk of exploitation of low paid migrant workers and work towards a fairer and safer system. (Source: FLEX)

Cohesion and integration

The Prime Minister has expressed 'deep regret' for using the phrase ‘island of strangers’ in a recent speech where the immigration white paper was launched. (Source: The Observer)

This article looks at how comics, graphic novels and other types of visual media are allowing refugees to share their stories and challenge anti-migrant images, by shifting attention from refugees themselves to the hostile environments they navigate in their journeys. (Source: The Conversation)

International news

Poland will temporarily reinstate border checks with Germany and Lithuania amid far-right activity and in response to irregular migration and recent changes in neighbouring Germany’s migration policy. Meanwhile in Germany, legislation is progressing to suspend family reunification for people with subsidiary protection (many of whom are Syrian) citing pressures on housing, education, and integration systems, and the country has ceased funding sea rescue organisations in the Mediterranean, redirecting resources to root causes of migration in countries of origin. (Sources: the Guardian, Reuters)

In contrast to these restrictive moves, Italy has announced plans to issue nearly 500,000 work visas for non-EU nationals by 2028, introducing a legal pathway driven by labour market needs. (Source: Reuters)

Stories that inspired us this week

Green Bridge Community Housing, a Sheffield charity that supports refugees, held its first Refugee Week celebration with the Mayor of Rotherham. (Source: Yorkshire Post)

Three young Londoners, Kayum, Abubakar and Zakariya, share stories of their trips to their parents’ home countries of Bangladesh, Somaliland, and Morocco, as they try to connect with their cultural roots. (Source: the Guardian)