The sheets of paper had text written over them:

i) Foreign master’s students bringing family members.

ii) Overseas care workers bringing family dependants.

iii) Immigration undercutting British workers.

Posting the video on X, Rishi Sunak wrote, “We’ve taken action to reduce migration. Student dependant applications are now down by 80 per cent.”

Earlier last year, the UK government announced a new immigration crackdown aimed at overseas students, including Indians, restricting their visa rights to bring dependent family members with them while enrolled at a British institution. In the rules that kicked in later on January 1 2024, postgraduate research and government-funded scholarship students were exempted from the new changes.

Under the new rules, immigrants will have to earn more to get a work visa and will find it harder to bring family members to the UK. However, the health and social care sectors that are reliant on immigrant staff, are exempt from the salary rule. However, overseas care workers will no longer be able to bring dependent relatives to Britain.

The government also said it would scrap a rule that allows employers in sectors on a “shortage occupation list” to pay immigrant workers 20% less than citizens of the United Kingdom. Christina McAnea, general secretary of the Unison trade union, said the measures would be a “total disaster” for health and the care sector.

“Migrant workers were encouraged to come here because both sectors are critically short of staff. Hospitals and care homes simply couldn’t function without them… Migrants will now head to more welcoming countries, rather than be forced to live without their families,” she said.