UK Builders Still Able to Hire From Abroad Under Visa Clampdown

A worker at a construction site in Bishops Stortford, UK.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Construction workers from abroad will still be able to migrate to the UK despite tighter visa restrictions announced by the government, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said, as Labour attempts to slash migration without damaging critical sectors of the economy.

Speaking to Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Cooper said officials had already identified a series of occupations that would not appear on the new Temporary Shortage List. That list will allow employers to bring workers into the country who would not otherwise be eligible, because the job is classed as below degree level.