There was another steep fall in UK work visas granted in 2024 as arrivals continue to decrease in the wake of rules introduced at the end of 2023 by the previous government. 

New Home Office figures show there were 210,000 visas granted to main applicants in all work categories in 2024, 37% fewer than in 2023, but 53% higher than in 2019.

Of these, 27,000 were health and care workers, 81% fewer than the peak in 2023.

The Home Office said the number of grants to main applicants on other routes in the “worker” category, (which includes skilled worker visas) in 2024 had fallen by 11%, compared with the previous year.

The number of temporary worker visas granted to main applicants in 2024 was 78,000, which is almost double (plus 91%) the number in 2019, largely because of the growth in the seasonal worker visa route.

There were 417,000 grants of an extension for work to main applicants, nearly seven times the number in 2019, primarily driven by the graduate, health and care worker, and the skilled worker visas.

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As expected, the numbers of sponsored study visas granted to foreign students showed a significant fall. There were 393,000 sponsored study visas granted to foreign students in 2024, 14% fewer than 2023, but 46% higher compared with 2019. Because of the rules introduced in 2024, visas issued to dependants of students fell by 85% to 22,000 compared with 2023, but were 37% higher than in 2019.

More than two-thirds (65%) of student visas in the latest four years were for master’s level courses.

Sacha Wooldridge, partner and head of immigration at law firm Birketts, pointed out that alongside a major decline in work visa applications, today’s figures also showed a “concerted compliance blitz” – with the Home Office suspension of company immigration sponsor licences up 197% and company sponsor licence revocations up 343%.

She said this was unsurprising given that the number of companies with sponsor licences had risen by 196% since 2021, when there were just 35,000 businesses that could sponsor migrant workers. By 2024, this had risen to 105,000.

The Home Office is starting to overreach by using their broad brush powers to cut numbers – there are fears that this is creating a more opaque regime where business are left unclear on their rights” – Sacha Wooldridge, Birketts

The Home Office is looking into whether those businesses are the right type of company to sponsor international workers and if there are enough controls in place to ensure legal recruitment.

Wooldridge said: “This is clear evidence the Home Office are taking back control over the work visa route to stop rogue employers that have a poor history or compliance, record keeping and reporting. Home Office sponsor enforcement activity has been especially focused on traditionally lower skilled sectors such as hospitality and in the care sector where reports of employer malpractice, modern day slavery and instances of employee debt bondage is rife.”

Businesses had been left unclear of their rights, however, she said. “The Home Office is starting to overreach by using their broad brush powers to cut numbers and there are fears that this is, in turn, creating a more opaque regime where business are left unclear on their rights. An example of this is the recent change in approach to applications for work visas for employee shareholders (known as self-sponsorship). Business needs to be adaptable to the rapidly changing regulatory environment and many are looking to remote workers and technology to revolutionise their workforce as an alternative.”

Louise Haycock, a partner at law firm Fragomen, said it was time to enable rather than limit mobility to drive growth. She added: “Given the already steep downwards trajectory, we would hope that the anticipated White Paper would look to enable rather than further limit talent mobility and ultimately aid growth. We would also hope to see a move away from determining policy by reference only through blunt lens of the overall net migration data point.”

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