UK work visa statistics reveal striking changes in recent years, reflecting not only policy shifts but also evolving demands in the labour market. According to the latest Home Office figures, 182,553 visas were granted to main applicants across all work categories in the year ending June 2025. While this represents a 36% fall compared with the previous year, it remains 33% higher than 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This pattern in the work visa statistics illustrates a broader story: long-term growth in migration for work since 2021, followed by sharp declines in the past two years, particularly in the health and social care sector.
The Rise and Fall of Health and Care Worker Visas
Few categories reflect the volatility of work migration as clearly as the Health and Care Worker visa. This route expanded in February 2022 to bolster the struggling care sector, leading to rapid growth. Numbers climbed from 47,194 visas in June 2022 to 145,823 by December 2023. Much of this surge came from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Nigeria.
However, the latest data shows a steep reversal. In the year ending June 2025, only 20,519 Health and Care Worker visas were issued to main applicants, a 77% fall. Occupation-level data reveals the extent of this drop:
- Caring Personal Service occupations fell by 88%, to 7,378 visas.
- Nursing professionals fell by 80%, to 3,080 visas.
The Department for Health and Social Care has linked this to the end of the government-backed international nurse recruitment programme, combined with changing demand for overseas staff. At the same time, greater compliance scrutiny and policy changes introduced in spring 2024 curtailed recruitment in social care.
Skilled Work and Sectoral Trends
Other routes in the “Worker” category, including the Skilled Worker visa, have also contracted. Grants to main applicants fell by 38% in the year to June 2025, with dependants down by 25%.
Some sectors were particularly hard hit:
- Food Preparation and Hospitality Trades saw an 81% fall, from 11,542 to just 2,168 visas.
- IT Professionals recruitment fell by 23%, with 10,231 visas issued.
These figures suggest a shift away from pandemic- and Brexit-era demand, where sectors like hospitality and technology urgently sought overseas workers. As the market stabilised, demand eased, leaving application numbers far below their 2021–2023 highs.
The Consistency of Temporary Work Routes
In contrast to the sharp falls in skilled migration, Temporary Worker visas have remained stable, even growing in specific categories. A total of 77,791 visas were granted in the year ending June 2025, broadly consistent with recent years but 90% higher than 2019.
Within this:
- Seasonal Worker visas increased by 11%, reaching 38,039 compared with the previous year. The sharp increase since the scheme’s 2019 launch reflects rising quotas, expanded to 47,000 in 2024 (set at 45,000 for 2025). Workers from Central Asia, particularly Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, now account for 78% of seasonal visas.
- Youth Mobility Scheme visas numbered 21,622, a 10% decrease compared with the previous year, though still well above pandemic levels. Australia continues to dominate this route, accounting for 40% of grants (8,602), while India’s Young Professionals Scheme contributed 2,414 grants to Indian nationals under this scheme.
Extensions of Stay: A Story of Continuity
While new visa grants have declined, extensions of existing work visas tell a different story. In the year ending June 2025, extensions of stay rose by 23% overall, driven by routes such as:
- The Graduate route (182,796 grants, +24%)
- The Health and Care Worker route (128,628 grants, +17%)
- The Skilled Worker route (105,648 grants, +7%)
The growth in Graduate route extensions is particularly striking: main applicant grants are now eight times higher than in 2019. This reflects the increasing number of international students who remain in the UK after study, transitioning into work.
Data from the Migrant Journey 2024 report shows that 94% of those extending in 2024 remained in a work route, though only 20% of the work cohort from five years earlier had secured indefinite leave to remain. By contrast, long-term settlement remains most common in the investor and business development categories, where 75% retain valid leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain after five years.
Sponsorship and the Immigration System
The broader infrastructure of migration has also expanded. By June 2025, there were 120,778 licensed sponsors for work and study, up from just 31,899 in 2019. However, new sponsorship approvals have slowed: 34,186 licences were decided in the past year, down from 50,489 in 2024. Of these, 19,177 were granted, a 50% fall.
This contraction highlights the impact of stricter Home Office oversight, particularly in the health and care sector, where compliance activity has intensified.
Conclusion: A System in Transition
UK Work visa statistics tell a story of rapid expansion, policy-driven change and market correction. The extraordinary rise in Health and Care Worker visas between 2021 and 2023 has now been replaced by an equally dramatic decline, reshaping the overall migration picture.
Crucially, these shifts cannot be separated from the government’s ongoing drive to reduce overall migration. A succession of policy changes since late 2023, from tighter restrictions on care workers and dependants to heightened scrutiny of sponsors, has directly influenced application and grant numbers. The latest data therefore not only reflects market demand but also the government’s determination to bring net migration down through sustained and incremental policy intervention.
With over 20 years of experience and a commitment to excellence, Morgan Smith Immigration is your trusted partner for all your immigration needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist you with UK Visa Applications. For any enquiries or assistance, call us at 0203 959 3335 or email [email protected].
