Nearly 3,000 visa applications for health and social care work were submitted in July 2024 – an 82% decrease from July 2023.
Home Office data shows that 91,300 applications were received in July for the skilled worker, health and care, and student visa routes. This had decreased by 36% compared to the previous year.
The Health and Care Worker visa covers healthcare workers including dental practitioners, dental nurses and laboratory technicians. In December 2023, former home secretary James Cleverly announced changes to the visa as part of a five-point plan to reduce immigration. These include no longer being able to bring dependants on the visa and an increase in minimum salary.
The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford attributed the decrease in visa applications to these changes. However, the Migration Advisory Committee suggested it was a ‘natural correction’ following an influx of applications after the new visa route was introduced in 2022.
Workforce problems
In 2022, net legal migration to the UK was reported to be at all-time high of 764,000. Speaking to The Independent, a Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We have set out a clear plan to bring down historically high levels of legal migration by tackling the root causes behind high international recruitment.’
However, the Migration Observatory expressed concern around the impact of declining visa applications on the healthcare workforce. It predicts that net migration will drop to around 350,000 by 2030 due to more people leaving, fewer overseas students and decreasing private sector vacancies.
Researcher Ben Brindle told The Times: ‘If the decline in health and care visas is because people are put off applying because of new rules, rather than a fall in demand, then it could signal further workforce problems for the health and care sector.’
Applications to study in the UK were also found to be down by 15%. Ben Brindle added: ‘Falls in student numbers could create problems for university finances.’
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