The number of individuals applying for visas to work and study in the UK saw a significant decline of nearly 400,000 following the introduction of new restrictions aimed at reducing legal migration levels. Provisional figures released by the Home Office indicate that there were 547,000 visa applications submitted between April and December 2024. This marks a striking decrease from the 942,500 applications recorded in the same timeframe in 2023, representing a reduction of approximately 42%.
The government’s objective was to reduce arrivals by 300,000 annually, a target that appears to have materialized to some extent. The sharp decline of 395,100 applications has been primarily influenced by a notable decrease in overseas students and foreign care workers seeking to immigrate to the UK.
The former Conservative government gradually implemented these restrictions from January to April of the previous year, mainly in response to mounting pressure to decrease the record-high number of individuals entering the UK legally. These changes included a prohibition on overseas care workers bringing family dependants with them and an increased salary threshold for skilled workers, which was raised to £38,700 annually.
In addition, significant policy reforms were introduced that prevented overseas students from bringing family members into the UK while simultaneously making it more challenging for British citizens earning below the national average salary to sponsor foreign spouses for immigration. These policy shifts have prompted concerns and warnings from various sectors regarding the potential impacts on universities and the care industry, particularly in education and social care.
The overall decrease of 42% in visa applications for primary applicants and their dependants conceals considerable variations in the magnitude of decline across different visa categories. A detailed analysis of the latest figures by PA news agency reveals that applications for health and care worker visas experienced a staggering drop of 79%. Specifically, applications fell from 299,800 during the nine months from April to December 2023 to just 63,800 during the same time frame in 2024.
The social care sector has vocally criticised the repercussions of the dependants ban, describing it as “brutal” and attributing it to a drastic reduction in what they termed a “lifeline of overseas staff.” Meanwhile, the number of sponsored study visas also saw a notable decline of 29%, plummeting from 546,100 in the nine months from April to December 2023 to 389,800 in the corresponding period in 2024. This decline has raised alarm bells among universities facing mounting financial pressures due to stagnant domestic tuition fees coupled with a decrease in the number of international students following these policy changes.
In contrast, the decrease in visa applications for skilled worker visas was considerably less dramatic, with only a 3% decline noted. Applications fell from 96,600 in the April to December 2023 period to 93,800 in the same period in 2024. However, this figure still surpasses the number of applications recorded in the equivalent nine-month period of 2022, which stood at 92,300. This highlights a complex landscape for immigration in the UK, reflecting both the impacts of policy changes and the ongoing demand in the labour market.
