The United Kingdom has experienced 35% decrease in visa applications over the past year, due to the implementation of new, stricter immigration rules designed to cut down on foreign national entries.
Official data from the Home Office was made public on Thursday, August 8, 2024. Following the implementation of new regulations in January 2024, the number of visa applications decreased from 141,000 to 91,000.
Introduced in December 2023, the policy changes specifically targeted international students, prohibiting them from bringing dependents unless they were enrolled in government-funded scholarship programs or postgraduate research courses.
The action was a component of the government’s larger campaign to reduce immigration, which hit a record 1.22 million last year.
The education sector has been disproportionately affected by these restrictions.
Applications for study visas fell by 16% between January and July of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Significantly, the number of visa applications from students’ dependents dropped by 81%, indicating the immediate impact of the new regulations.
The healthcare industry has also been badly hit; in the same time frame, the number of applications for Health and Care Worker visas fell by 80%.
Aftercare workers were added to the skilled worker visa category in 2022, there was a spike in applications.
After August 2023, though, the trend changed, and in July 2024, there were only 2,900 applications, reversing the previous trend.
“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.
Nadra Ahmed, the executive co-chairman of the National Care Association, voiced concern about the growing number of healthcare professionals choosing to relocate to nations with laxer immigration laws.
Despite these obstacles, the UK government is unwavering in its resolve to restrict immigration while concentrating on creating a “homegrown workforce” in order to alleviate the shortage of skilled labor in the country.
