LONDON, United Kingdom — New data from the Home Office show say UK visa applications don drop by more than one-third in the past year. From April 2024 to March 2025, just 772,200 applications dey submitted, representing a 37% decline from 1.24 million applications for the previous year. This significant drop affect many visa categories, including work, study, and family visas. Experts believe strict immigration rules wey enter force in early 2024 na why dem see this fall.
The most drastic decline na for applications from foreign health and care workers and their families, wey fall by 78%, from 359,300 in 2023/24 to only 80,700 in 2024/25. Dis drop fit link to the ban on overseas care workers wey the previous government implement. Senior researcher at the Migration Observatory, Dr. Ben Brindle, share say dis tightening of immigration rules don affect many applications, especially from those wey no fit bring family members to the UK.
Family members of students wey get sponsored study visas see one of the largest declines with a whopping 83% decrease. For main student applicants, dem see a modest decline of 11%. The law changes wey happen include ban on students bringing family dependents and significant increase in the salary threshold for skilled workers to £38,700, wey be major drivers for this decline.
Dr. Brindle explain say: ‘The tightening of immigration rules under the previous government has led to a sharp decline in visa applications over the past year. Dis drop largely come from health and care workers’ applications and students’ family members, many of whom now dey unable to come to the UK.’ He equally mention say the number of skilled worker visa applicants don drop by 16% year-on-year, while applications for their dependents went down by 13%.
Despite these decreases, Dr. Brindle note say overall, applications from non-EU citizens dey still above pre-Brexit levels. As of the middle of 2024, overall net migration dey high, compared to before Brexit. He say, ‘Despite all these declines, the number of people wey don come to the UK remains significantly higher than before the Brexit era.’
The recent statistics mean say the UK government’s strategy to reduce net migration don start to show effect, but the impact on various sectors, particularly in health and care, still dey significant. Unison’s head of social care, Gavin Edwards, argue say: ‘The restrictions on overseas applicants wete dey support the social care sector wey still dey face ongoing recruitment problems.’
Experts suggest that while employers dey trying to meet the new salary thresholds, dem fit also dey filling positions through alternative methods or just leaving some roles unfilled. As wey dis situation dey unfold, many stakeholders dey call for reforms to ensure a balance between controlling immigration and the needs of essential services in the UK.
