Bricklayers, masons, roofers, roof tilers, slaters, carpenters, joiners and plasterers will benefit from cheaper visas and more relaxed employment criteria under the changes.

Britain is suffering from acute labour shortages in some sectors meaning employers are keen to recruit workers from abroad.

But, doing so causes a political headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak‘s governing Conservative Party, which has been promising to cut net migration for the last decade.

The interior ministry said in a statement on Monday that adding the new roles would “aid the delivery of key national infrastructure and stimulate growth for related industries”