The number of UK visa applications has fallen by over a third in the past year, new Home Office data has revealed.
The UK received 772,000 applications for visas in the year to March, down 37 per cent from 1.24 million in the same period last year.
Applications across major visa categories, including work, study, and family visas are all down.
The steepest decline was in applications by family members of those wanting to come to the UK on a sponsored study visa, which was down by 83 per cent.
The UK received 772,000 applications for visas in the year to March
PAAnd just behind them were applications from foreign health and care workers and their families.
These applications nosedived by 78 per cent, from 359,300 in 2023/24 to just 80,700 in 2024/25.
The figures suggest that net migration will have tumbled by the time the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes its next update in May.
In its last update in November, the ONS revealed that net migration stood at 728,000 in the year to June 2024.
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Lunar House in Croydon, south London which houses the headquarters of UK Visas and Immigration
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This was a dip of 20 per cent compared to the previous year, where levels hit a record-high of 906,000.
In 2024, the previous Conservative Government introduced changes that were designed to bring down peak levels of net migrations.
This included a ban on overseas care workers and students bringing family members to Britain with them, and a hike in the salary needed for skilled workers to £38,700.
Researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, Dr Ben Brindle, said: “The tightening of immigration rules under the previous government has led to a sharp decline in visa applications over the past year.
In 2024, the previous Conservative Government introduced changes that were designed to bring down peak levels of net migrations
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“This was driven primarily by a fall in applications from health and care workers and students’ family members – most of whom now cannot come to the UK.
“Main applications from health and care workers also fell, possibly reflecting fewer vacancies and government focus on exploitation in the sector.”
However, Brindle said that applications from migrants recruited for jobs outside health and care had fallen less than expected.
The number of main applicants for skilled worker visas dropped by 16 per cent year on year.
He added that with the increase in salary thresholds “it appears that many employers are simply paying workers more”.
