- Prosper UK argues that immigration policy should be serious, selective and focused on economic growth
- The report calls for Britain to compete harder for high-skilled migrants, senior specialists, entrepreneurs and investors
- It also argues that immigration charges paid by employers should be used to rebuild the domestic talent pipeline and train British workers
A strong economy is the UK’s most urgent priority. Only a strong economy can deliver better public services, higher living standards, sustainable finances and the ability to defend the country. Immigration policy can play a key role in delivering growth if the right choices are made.
Recent debates have too often moved between reactive tightening and loosening of numbers without asking the harder question: who does the country most need to attract, retain and train? Prosper UK’s report argues for a controlled immigration system that distinguishes between different kinds of migration and prioritises those who make the strongest economic contribution.
Public trust depends on secure borders and control over who enters the country. This paper focuses on legal immigration for work purposes because of its role in supporting growth, investment, innovation and public services. Stopping irregular migration is imperative and Prosper UK will set out its position on that key issue separately.
The paper notes that net migration has already fallen sharply. In the year to December 2025, net migration fell to 171,000, roughly half what it had been the year before. Skilled Worker main applicant applications also fell by 40 per cent in the year to April 2026. The challenge is to ensure that reforms which reduce numbers do not also deter the specialists, senior executives, entrepreneurs and investors the economy depends on.
The UK also faces a domestic skills challenge. More than one million young people aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training. Migration cannot be a substitute for training British workers, but nor should the country deter the people who bring specialist skills, international connections and measurable economic value while the domestic pipeline is rebuilt.
Recommendations
- Make the most economically beneficial routes more competitive, including by reviewing costs, charges, salary thresholds, visa portability and the Immigration Skills Charge, while investing in training to close domestic skills gaps
- Produce an Annual Migration Plan with strategic objectives, a five-year strategy to reduce employers’ dependence on overseas labour, rebuild the domestic pipeline and retain British talent
- Consider an investor visa focused on productive capital, including investment in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, life sciences and clean energy
- Expand youth mobility in tightly controlled forms, including a capped, time-limited UK-EU youth mobility deal with no return to free movement
The report argues that numbers alone are not a strategy. A serious immigration policy should bring overall control together with economic selection, public confidence and a long-term plan to develop domestic skills.
Read the full report
Download Prosper UK’s policy report: An Immigration Plan for Growth.
