A south London business owner has warned that new immigration rules could have a "massive impact" on companies that hire skilled workers from abroad.
Aneesa Khan said that her Indian Italian fusion restaurant in Wallington, Bombay Pizza, relied on skilled chefs from South Asia to create the dishes.
Ms Khan, whose business took her to the final of The Apprentice, said she was concerned that stricter immigration rules could dissuade the talent she needed from coming to the UK.
It comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the Labour Party conference that anyone who wanted to stay in the UK permanently would have to contribute to their community, and gave an example of volunteering.
In her speech at the conference, the home secretary said that if someone wanted to stay in the UK permanently, they would have to contribute.
"I will be proposing a series of new tests, such as being in work, making National Insurance contributions, not taking a penny in benefits, learning English to a high standard, having no criminal record and that you have truly given back to your community, such as by volunteering your time to a local cause."
Ms Khan said: "All our chefs are from South Asia, they're from Bangladesh, from India, and that's where we get all the authentic cooking from. That's what customers come to us for, for that authentic taste.
"Right now there are not enough chefs in the area to cater for that, so we need to hire from abroad.
"If these changes come in, it will have a massive impact on a business like mine, a small business that relies on getting the skilled labour from abroad.
"The industry right now is struggling with rising food costs, energy costs, all these costs are increasing, so it is a really difficult time for us already, and this is going to make it worse."
In July, the government raised the salary threshold for visa sponsorship to £41,700 a year for new applicants.
This has affected workers including Transport for London (TfL) staff, who receive a starting salary of £31,000 as graduates, and earn between £35,300 and £41,800 for trainee station staff roles.
The mayor of London called on the government to reconsider its immigration rules, which also removed some transport roles from the "skilled worker" list, after the TSSA transport union said up to 300 TfL staff could be left at risk of removal.
Sir Sadiq Khan said the deputy mayor for transport, Seb Dance, had written to the migration minister to call for the measures to be paused and for TfL staff to be protected immediately.
The Home Office said its immigration white paper was designed to "restore order" to immigration, and that it would respond to Mr Dance's letter in due course.
The government also plans to double the time many people would have to wait to achieve Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from five to 10 years.
The Home Office said the proposals would be subject to a consultation due to be launched by the end of the year, and further details would be published following its conclusion.
But in the meantime, there is concern from those who have been planning their lives around the five-year pathway.
Mehdi, a software engineer, came to the UK from Iran on a skilled worker visa.
He was due to achieve ILR in 2027 and said the proposed changes amounted to a breach of trust.
"I think it is important for a government to always treat people, foreign or not, in a fair manner," he said.
"I think changing the rules halfway, moving the goalposts halfway, I don't think that's fair."
He added: "What if all of the stuff that I've done, what if all of the years I've put in, best years of my life probably, what if it's all just been in vain?
"It's something that's constantly at the back of my mind. It's a shadow that looms large over every aspect of my life and it simply doesn't go away."
More clarity will come after the consultation, but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he believes controlling migration is a reasonable goal and that he is prepared to take decisions that will not always be comfortable for the Labour Party.