The UK government has reported a significant decrease in visa applications following changes to its immigration policy that took effect in January 2024. According to the Home Office, visa applications dropped by 35.46 percent from 141,000 to 91,000 between January and July 2024.
The changes, introduced in December 2023, were aimed at reducing immigration after the UK saw a record high of 1.22 million immigrants in the previous year. The new rules prohibited international students from bringing dependents, with exceptions for those pursuing postgraduate research courses or government-funded scholarships.
This policy shift led to a 16 percent reduction in study visa applications between January and July 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. Additionally, applications from dependents of students decreased by 81 percent within this timeframe.
The country also observed an 80 percent decline in health and care worker visa applications. While the number of health and care worker visa applications initially increased from 4,100 to 18,300 between February 2022 and August 2023 due to the inclusion of care workers in the skilled worker visa category, this number subsequently fell to 2,900 in July 2024.
In response to the skilled worker shortage, the UK government has stated its commitment to training a “homegrown workforce” to address the issue and fill critical skill gaps, particularly within the health and care sectors.
