New data shows a significant drop in UK visa applications for foreign skilled workers and healthcare personnel last year following the implementation of stricter immigration controls.
In 2025, 61,000 people applied for care worker visas as either the primary applicant or a dependent; this represents a 51% decrease compared to the 123,300 in the 12-month period up to December 2024.
It seems the government misunderstood the concept of immigration, including skilled and healthcare workers among those arriving illegally, and has started denying them visas.
However, the immigration problem in this country stems not from skilled and healthcare workers arriving with visas, but from the hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving illegally across the English Straits. The government needs to stop these illegal immigrants, but it seems they still haven’t found the mentality to do so.
Meanwhile, the decrease in arrivals to the UK is not solely due to stricter visa requirements, but also to economic problems and the high cost of living. Coming to the UK and working here is no longer advantageous. Everything from food prices to house prices and rents has increased, and unfortunately, skilled people are no longer choosing this country.