The United Kingdom has witnessed a dramatic 35 per cent drop in visa applications over the past year, following the introduction of stricter immigration policies aimed at reducing the country’s intake of foreign nationals.
According to official figures released by the Home Office on Thursday, August 8, 2024, the number of visa applications fell from 141,000 to 91,000 after new rules came into effect in January 2024.
The policy changes, introduced in December 2023, specifically targeted international students, restricting them from bringing dependants unless they were enrolled in postgraduate research courses or government-funded scholarship programs.
The move was part of the government’s broader effort to curb immigration, which reached a record high of 1.22 million last year.
The impact of these restrictions has been particularly pronounced in the education sector.
Between January and July 2024, study visa applications dropped by 16 per cent compared to the same period in 2023.
More significantly, there was an 81 per cent decline in visa applications from the dependants of students, reflecting the sharp effect of the new rules.
The healthcare sector has also been severely affected, with applications for Health and Care Worker visas plummeting by 80 per cent during the same period.
This followed a surge in applications aftercare workers were added to the skilled worker visa category in 2022.
However, the trend reversed after August 2023, with the number of applications falling to just 2,900 in July 2024.
“Monthly numbers of Health and Care Worker visa applications from main applicants increased from 4,100 to 18,300 between February 2022 and August 2023, following the addition of care workers to the skilled worker visa. Applications have decreased since August 2023, falling to 2,900 in July 2024,” the report said.
The Executive co-chairman of the National Care Association, Nadra Ahmed, expressed concern that many healthcare workers are now opting to relocate to countries with less restrictive immigration policies.
Despite these challenges, the UK government remains steadfast in its commitment to controlling immigration, while simultaneously focusing on developing a “homegrown workforce” to address the nation’s shortage of skilled workers.