Visa proposals to support Scotland’s economy
UK Government urged to consider tailored migration routes.
Business Minister Tom Arthur has published proposals for a visa system that supports Scotland’s distinct needs.
This includes existing proposals for a Scottish Visa, Rural Visa and Scottish Graduate Visa and making the current immigration system more accessible to the needs of different sectors.
The Scottish Government has highlighted the UK Government’s closure of the Adult Social Care visa route as an example of creating an increased risk of workforce shortages and service pressures, particularly in rural and island communities.
This newly-published Scottish Government policy paper highlights the economic and social challenges the country may face if the UK Government does not take action.
While migration remains a reserved policy area, the Scottish Government has taken forward several initiatives, including the development of Scotland’s Migration Service and delivery of the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, funding for which was increased by almost 50% this year.
Mr Arthur said:
“Mirroring a trend in many countries throughout the world, Scotland has an ageing population and areas where the population is falling. This makes immigration ever-more critical in ensuring we have working-age people to fill skills gaps, sustain public services, support communities and grow the economy.
“A migration system designed around UK-wide averages – which is what we have now – cannot adequately respond to Scotland's demographic and geographic circumstances.
“In the spirit of the Prime Minister's public commitment to reset relationships with devolved governments, I have invited the UK Migration Minister to engage with me in constructive discussions to ensure that the immigration system is tailored to Scotland’s needs.”
Background
Submitting Scottish Visa proposals to the UK government is a 100 Days commitment.
The visa proposals policy paper is available on the Scottish Government website.
The latest population estimates show that the populations of 20 out of 32 council areas fell between mid-2024 and mid-2025.
The same statistics show that Scotland's population continues to age. At mid-2025, 21.0% of the population were aged 65 and over, compared with 16.3% at mid-2005.
Over the same period, the percentage of children aged 0 to 15 years fell from 18.2% to 15.8%.