Sure, I’ll make this blog post simple and easy to understand.
The number of health and care worker visa applications dropped by 81% from April to July 2024 compared to the same time in 2023.
This information comes from an official UK Home Office report. Visa applications decreased from 18,300 in August 2023 to just 2,900 in July 2024.
Between April and July 2024, there were 10,800 applications, showing an 81% decrease from the same period in 2023.
The big drop happened because of new rules made by the Conservative government. These rules stopped most international students and health and social care workers from bringing their families to the UK.
In August 2023, applications for dependents (family members) were at their highest, with 23,300. But by July 2024, this number fell to 5,100. From April to July 2024, there were 22,200 applications for dependents, which is a 71% decrease from the previous year.
Skilled worker visa applications increased to 10,100 in April 2024 but later dropped to 6,000 by July 2024. There were 28,600 applications from April to July 2024, showing a 23% increase compared to 2023.
Study visa applications from January to July 2024 totaled 156,800, a 16% drop from the previous year. Applications from dependents dropped by 81% after new restrictions were put in place.
What They Said
According to BBC reports, the Home Office said they are focused on training local workers to fill important jobs, especially in health and social care.
This plan is to depend less on workers from other countries and to build a strong workforce in the UK.
The plan is to “train our own people and fix the skill shortage”.
A spokesperson from the department said immigration brings “many benefits to the UK, but it must be managed fairly,”.
Nadra Ahmed, co-chair of the National Care Association, told BBC that some workers are either going back home or moving to countries with “friendlier immigration rules”.
“If we had more local workers ready to work, we wouldn’t need as many international recruits.”
She also said it might take “a few years” to build a strong local workforce and warned that the number of job openings could become too high to handle.
Backstory
- The UK Government has stopped foreign Health and Care Workers from bringing family members to the UK to reduce the number of migrants. Last year, these workers brought an estimated 120,000 family members.
- The Home Office said this change would lead to the largest-ever drop in the country’s net migration. The British government said this was to lower the “unprecedented” and “unsustainable” levels of legal migration.
- Home Secretary James Cleverly said his plan would result in 300,000 fewer people coming to the UK in the next few years.