This is according to the UK immigration system statistics year ending December 2024 report published on Thursday.The decline follows increased scrutiny of employers in the health and social care sector and the introduction of tighter immigration policies in early 2024.
Between 2021 and 2023, the UK saw a surge in health and care worker visas from 31,800 to 145,823 respectively, primarily driven by migration from South Asia particularly India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—as well as Sub-Saharan Africa, with Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Nigeria among the leading sources of workers.
However, since late 2023, visa approvals for care workers and home carers have plummeted, with the number of visas issued to migrant workers in Caring Personal Service occupations dropping by 91% to just 9,539 in the latest year.
The UK Home Office has attributed the decline to increased compliance measures targeting employers in the sector, as well as new policies designed to reduce dependency on overseas labor. The government has justified the tighter restrictions as necessary to ensure ethical recruitment practices and to protect the UK labor market.
“The fall towards the end of 2023 is likely due to more scrutiny applied by the Home Office to employers in the health and social care sector, and compliance activity taken against employers of migrant workers, as well as the recent policy measures affecting care workers introduced in Spring 2024”, the report read.
The Uk also granted 210,000 visas to main applicants in all work categories in 2024, 37% fewer than the previous year.
