UK offered fewer work visas and study visas to non-immigrants in 2024. The data shows that there were few takers for the work permits and study visas by foreigners last year.

The UK Home Office revealed the immigration data for last year just a few days after the White Paper was published. While the data mostly reflects existing policies, such as the restriction on most student dependents and revisions to the Health and Care route, it serves as a clear backdrop for the government’s plans.

The data covers the entire range of immigration pathways, including international students, foreign workers, and the social care sector, and reflects the early impact of recent policy changes, particularly in terms of sponsored employment and dependent applicants.

In total, there were 2.2 million visitor visas, including work, study, and other visas, in 2024.

Work Visa

There were 192,000 visas granted to main applicants in all work categories in the year ending March 2025, 39% fewer than the year ending March 2024, but 40% more than in 2019.

There were 23,000 ‘Health and Care Worker’ visas granted to main applicants in the year ending March 2025, 85% fewer than the peak in 2023.

The number of grants to main applicants on other routes in the ‘Worker’ category, which includes ‘Skilled Worker’ visas in the year ending March 2025, has fallen by 23%, compared to the year ending March 2024.

The number of ‘Temporary Worker’ visas granted to main applicants in the year ending March 2025 was 75,000; this is 6% fewer than the year ending March 2024 but 83% higher than in 2019, largely due to the growth in the ‘Seasonal Worker’ route

There were 434,000 grants of an extension for work to main applicants in the year ending March 2025, nearly 7 times the number in 2019, primarily driven by the ‘Graduate’, ‘Health and Care Worker’, and ‘Skilled Worker’

Study Visa

There were 403,000 sponsored study visas granted to foreign students in the year ending March 2025, 10% fewer than in the year ending March 2024, but 50% more than in 2019; in the year ending March 2025, visas issued to dependants of students were 83% lower at 18,000 compared to the year ending March 2024. Over 60% of student visas in the last 5 years were for master level courses.

Family Visa

In the year ended March 2025, 76,000 family-related visas were granted, a 3% decrease from the previous year, but more than double the number granted in the year to March 2021.

The growth of family visas has largely been driven by Partner visas, but in the most recent year, the number of Partner visas granted has fallen by 17%.

There has also been a rise in ‘Refugee Family Reunion’ family visas in the year ended March 2025, which increased from 12,000 to 21,000 compared to the previous year, their highest level since the series began in 2005; this is largely due to the higher number of individuals granted refugee status in recent years.

Settlement or citizenship

There were 173,000 grants of settlement in the UK in the year ending March 2025, a third more than in the previous year, although still below the peak in the year to December 2010 (241,000).

Individuals who had previously been granted leave to remain in the UK on a work route made up the largest settlement category, accounting for 37% of total grants, with a 54% increase for those on the Skilled Worker route.

There has been a sharp increase in citizenship grants in recent years, with numbers rising from 129,000 in the year ending March 2021 to 269,000 in the year ending March 2025.