King's College London

Following the end of free movement after the UK voted to leave the European Union, a new points-based immigration system was introduced on 1^st January 2021, replacing the Tier 2 Work visa with the Skilled Worker visa. The Skilled Worker visa implemented an ‘Australian-style’ points-based system, where applicants qualify for a visa by scoring points based on a set of requirements. The introduction of the new points-based immigration system and changes to other visa systems contributed to increasing levels of immigration that held the country’s attention.

In November 2023, we brought together 15 members of the public living in St Albans and the surrounding area to form a Citizens’ Jury on economic migration. The Jury were tasked with deliberating on the UK’s points-based immigration system, and whether it should be reformed. With the introduction of the points-based system nearing its three-year anniversary at the time, the Jury was an opportunity to reflect on whether the UK’s new way of managing economic immigration was seen as effective, fair and reflective of what people in the UK value about those who move here to work.

All 15 jurors voted in favour of reforming the UK’s points-based immigration system, with many calling for a complete overhaul. While they supported the continuation of a points-based immigration system in principle, jurors wanted to see changes to how points are used in the UK system. This included more nuance in how points are allocated and what for, in order to take a more holistic look at who is coming to the UK to work and how they can be supported to build a life here.

How the jurors reached this verdict is described in the juror’s report. We also provide details of the information and exercises that supported jurors to reach this decision as supplementary information at the bottom of this page.

The project was funded by Unbound Philanthropy and delivered in partnership with British Future.