The number of visas issued to foreign nationals coming to the UK for work, study, family, or humanitarian reasons has dropped sharply, driven largely by a steep fall in work-related applications.
Home Office data shows that 834,977 entry visas were granted in the year to June 2025, down 32 percent from 1.23 million in the previous 12 months. It is the lowest figure for any 12-month period since September 2021, when the total stood at 802,415.
The most significant decline was in work-related visas, which nearly halved, falling 48 percent from 545,855 to 286,071. Study visas dropped 18 percent from 530,312 to 435,891, while family visas fell 15 percent from 83,912 to 70,961.
Among humanitarian and resettlement categories, 14,216 visas were issued under the Ukraine schemes (down 48 percent year on year), 11,804 to British National Overseas status holders from Hong Kong (down 47 percent), and 9,357 under the EU Settlement Scheme (down 34 percent). A further 3,640 visas were issued to dependants joining or accompanying others, and 3,037 under other settlement programmes.
The decline is seen as a reflection of migration policy changes introduced early last year by the previous Conservative government, including restrictions on international students bringing family members and a ban on overseas care workers bringing dependants.
Visas issued to health and care workers and their families fell dramatically, down 77 percent from 267,348 in the year to June 2024 to 61,901 in the most recent 12 months. Student dependant visas also recorded the steepest percentage fall, dropping 81 percent from 94,204 to 17,804.
Dr Ben Brindle, a researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said the steep decline was possible because migration had previously reached record highs. “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,” he said.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Government was “bringing legal migration back under control,” adding that “stronger visa controls and higher skill requirements introduced through our White Paper are expected to bring those overall numbers down further.”
