The number of UK visas granted to foreign health and care workers, as well as to family members of international students, has significantly decreased following recent
government efforts to reduce net migration. The previous Conservative government implemented these restrictions as part of broader measures aimed at curbing legal immigration, a topic that has long been central to British politics and was a key factor in the Brexit referendum of 2016.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's administration last year introduced policies to limit the influx of foreign care workers and students, including restrictions on post-graduate students bringing family members to the UK. These changes have had a notable impact: the UK granted 89,095 health and care worker visas in the year ending in June, a decrease of 26% compared to the previous year. The drop was even more pronounced between April and June, with an 81% year-on-year decline in visas for these workers.
To further reduce net immigration, the government tightened visa regulations, increasing salary thresholds and imposing new limits on care workers bringing in family members. Marley Morris, associate director for migration, trade, and communities at the Institute for Public Policy Research, warned that these restrictions could worsen staffing issues in a sector already facing significant recruitment challenges. "The social care sector is still struggling with recruitment, and the government will need to monitor the situation closely to avoid a further staffing crisis," Morris said.
The impact of these policies has also been felt in the education sector. The total number of visas issued to foreign students for studies at British universities dropped by 13% over the year, reaching 432,225 by June. Additionally, visas granted to dependents of overseas students plummeted by 81% in the first six months of this year, falling to 11,675 compared to the same period last year.
While the UK is home to some of the world's most prestigious universities, such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial College London, which are known for fostering innovation and creativity, the previous government expressed concerns about visa misuse. Some ministers claimed that certain students and their dependents were applying for visas only to claim asylum or overstay.
Public sentiment towards immigration has become increasingly critical, with recent polls showing it as the top concern for British voters for the first time in eight years. This shift in priorities follows a series of far-right riots targeting Muslims and migrants earlier this month. Photo by UK Government, Wikimedia commons.