Robert Jenrick is increasing the pressure on Sunak with a 30-point plan to tackle migration

The government must “undo the disastrous post-Brexit liberalisations” that “betrayed” the public’s desire for lower immigration before the general election, Robert Jenrick has demanded.

The former Tory immigration secretary has made more than 30 recommendations to curb migration in a Center for Policy Studies (CPS) report he co-authored.

The proposals include limiting health and care visas to 30,000, scrapping the graduation route for international students and indexing salary thresholds for visa routes in line with inflation.

The Interior Ministry should be split to create a department focused more on border control, the centre-right think tank’s report said.

It states that net migration should be reduced to “tens of thousands”.

Mr Jenrick, who is seen as a potential candidate for the Tory leadership, has increased pressure on Rishi Sunak over immigration.

He and fellow MPs on the Conservative right have urged the Prime Minister to take action as revised official estimates published in November showed that the net migration rate – the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving Britain – in reached a record of 745,000 in 2022.

Mr Sunak has faced demands for a political change of direction as MPs from both Tory sides hope to turn around their electoral fortunes in the wake of a drubbing in local and regional elections.

Mr Jenrick and his co-authors, former Tory minister Neil O’Brien and CPS research director Karl Williams, argue that large-scale migration has failed to deliver significant fiscal benefits while putting pressure on housing, public services and infrastructure.

Mr Jenrick said: “It would be inexcusable if the Government did not use the time before the general election to reverse the disastrous post-Brexit liberalizations that betray the British public’s stated desire for lower immigration.

“The changes we are proposing today would finally return the numbers to historic norms and deliver the highly selective, highly qualified voters from the immigration system that were promised. This policy could be implemented immediately and mass migration of low-skilled people would be a thing of the past.

“Immigration is consistently one of voters’ top concerns and they deserve a department whose sole mission is to control immigration and secure our borders. For far too long, the Ministry of the Interior has been unable to do this.”

The Conservative MP for Newark resigned as immigration minister in December in protest at Mr Sunak’s deportation plan in Rwanda, arguing it would not act as a sufficient deterrent to prevent asylum seekers arriving in small boats.

The government is introducing a series of restrictions in a bid to reduce the number of people arriving legally in Britain, including a ban on foreign care workers bringing family members to Britain and a dramatically increased salary threshold for skilled workers to £38,700.

A government spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister and Home Secretary have made it clear that current migration levels are far too high. That’s why the government has announced a plan to reduce the number of migrants coming to Britain last year by 300,000 – the biggest reduction ever.

“This plan is working; the latest statistics show that applications for three major visa categories have fallen by 24%.

“Our approach is fair – reducing immigration and ensuring companies invest in and recruit from the domestic workforce, while prioritizing the foreign workers and students who will make a significant contribution to our economy.”