The number of foreign workers and students coming to the UK has fallen (Image: Getty)
The number of foreign workers and students moving to the UK fell sharply following a crackdown on record arrivals, new figures show.
Some 286,071 people were issued work visas in the year to June 2025, down from 545,855 in the year before. And the number of study visas fell by almost 100,000 to 435,891, figures show. Around 18,000 visas were granted to the family members of international students in the year ending June 2025, a fall of 81% compared to the year ending June 2024.
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Dr Ben Brindle, researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford said: “The sharp fall in visas was possible because migration to the UK had previously been so high.
"It’s possible we’ll see further declines in the coming months—though probably smaller ones—as the data catches up with more recent restrictions like the closure of the care worker route to overseas recruitment.”
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Home Office figures show the number of visas issued to migrants to work in the UK fell by 36% to 183,000. And analyisis revealed the number of ‘Health and Care Worker’ visas issued to main 'applicants' fell by 77% . Dependant visas also fell by 77% over the same period, with an average of 2 dependants per main applicant on a ‘Health and Care Worker’ visa in year to June.
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It comes after former Home Secretary Sir James Cleverly banned overseas care workers and students from bringing their family members with them to the UK as part of a series of measures to slash net migration.
He also increased the salary threshold for skilled workers to ￡38,700.
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to reduce net migration amid a growing electoral threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Sir Keir said he wanted net migration to have fallen “significantly” by the next general election – but refused to set a target number.
Measures in Labour’s plan, dubbed “Restoring control over the immigration system”, included:
- Increasing the threshold for the Skilled Worker Visa to graduate-level roles.
- Revoking visas for foreign thugs, shoplifters and sex offenders as the number of offenders eligible for deportation is expanded.
- Reforming citizenship rules by making migrants wait 10 years rather than five to apply for indefinite leave to remain, although workers who significantly contribute to society, such as nurses, doctors and engineers, could be fast-tracked.
- Requiring a higher standard of English across all immigration routes, including, for the first time, adult dependents required to display a basic understanding of the language.
- Closing the social care visa to foreign workers, amid fears it is being abused as a back door route into the UK.
The Home Office has predicted its changes will lead to 100,000 fewer people coming to the UK, meaning net migration could settle at around 240,000-250,000 by the end of this Parliament in 2029. Data published in May revealed net migration halved after the Tory crackdown on record numbers of arrivals.
Tighter controls on overseas workers and foreign students led to a fall of 435,000 to 431,000, from a staggering 866,000 in the year to December 2023. Around one in five migrants who come to the UK to work historically get indefinite leave to remain, meaning they are entitled to benefits, social housing and free use of the NHS. This rises to 73% on other eligible visa routes, such as the Family Route.
Over the period of Jan 21 to June 2024, 360,473 work visas were issued. This included 156,407 to dependants, according to the Centre for Policy Studies. Some 647,134 came to the UK on the health and care visa, including 377,135 dependants, the CPS said.
Meanwhile, 218,094 arrived in the UK on a family visa. The Hong Kong refugee visa also offered a pathway to indefinite leave to remain. Any of these granted indefinite leave to remain could go on to claim benefits over the next four years.
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Long-term immigration fell below one million for the first time in around three years, according to the figures published in May. This was driven by a sharp fall in the number of non-EU nationals moving to the UK for work.
This total fell by 108,000, or 49 per cent, in the year ending December. Student visa arrivals fell by 17 per cent. That was estimated to be 948,000 in the year ending December 2024, down by almost a third from 1,326,000 in the previous 12 months.
There were larger falls in dependents coming to the UK, with study dependents down by 86 per cent, amounting to 105,000 people and work dependents dropping by 35 per cent, representing 81,000 people.
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