The United Kingdom (UK) is presently experiencing a decline in visa requests due to the decrease in legal migration, with visa applications on primary routes falling by 25% in the initial four months of 2024.
James Cleverly, the UK home secretary has also insisted that the government’s strategy to reduce legal migration is “working,” even though data show an increase in the number of applications for work permits.
Cleverly stated this after hailing the latest provisional Home Office data which suggested the number of student and foreign care worker visa applications continues to fall.
However, the statistics up until April 2024 also reveal a 50% increase in skilled worker visa applications during the initial four months of the year, in comparison to the corresponding period in 2023. This surge has led the Labour Party to criticize the Government, claiming that they lack control over immigration.
Effects Of The New Measures On Immigrants
Government measures to tighten student visas, which came into force in January, have prevented most international students starting courses this year from bringing family members with 79% fewer student-dependent applications in the first 4 months of 2024.
Students are now unable to change their visas before finishing their studies, which stops individuals from exploiting this loophole to seek employment in the UK.
This measure also aims to crack down on institutions that prioritize selling immigration opportunities over providing quality education, thus safeguarding the UK’s reputation.
There were more than 30,000 fewer student visa applications made between January to April 2024 compared to the same period in 2023
Data also shows that in the first full month, the restrictions on care worker dependants were in place, and there was a 58% fall in Health and Care dependant application numbers, from 15,100 in April 2023 to 6,400 in April 2024.
The government has explicitly stated that the significant increase in the number of care worker dependant visas is both imbalanced and unmanageable.
In addition to the government’s endeavors to combat exploitation by implementing new regulations that mandate CQC registration for companies sponsoring migrant care workers in England, they are determined to see these numbers continue to fall.
What The Change In Rule Means
The change in rules could indicate a last-minute surge in applications. In April alone. The Home Office figures suggest the department received applications from 10,100 main applicants and 6,500 for dependants in this visa route.
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The figures also suggest the number of applications to come to the UK on a health and care worker visa fell by more than three-quarters in the first four months of this year compared with the equivalent period in 2023.
Some 12,400 main applications were made from January to April 2024, down 76% from 50,900 in January to April the previous year. The number of dependants included in these applications fell 6% from 59,300 in January to 55,700 in the same period of April this year.
There were 43,600 main applicants for a sponsored study visa from January to April 2024, down 12% from 49,400 in the equivalent period in 2023. Dependants included in these applications fell 79% from 38,900 to 8,300.
The Home Office said it will be “necessary to await the peak in student applications for the next academic year,” which usually comes in August and September before it will be possible to see the “full effect of recent policy changes and any other impacts.”
The measures will be kept “under close review” and “if needed, we will not hesitate to go further,” he added.
More Insights
Delivery of this comprehensive series of measures is part of the government’s wider plan to crack down on rising migration, both legal and illegal, and reform the immigration system.
The plan is working as it continues to tackle this global challenge by working with international partners and clamping down on criminal gangs with stepped-up enforcement.
It comes as the government continues a program of work to grow and support the domestic social care workforce. Led by the Department of Health and Social Care, this includes better training, clearer career paths, and improved job prospects through a new accredited qualification.
On irregular migration, the government wants to deport 5,700 irregular migrants to Rwanda this year under a controversial scheme to stop small boats carrying asylum seekers from crossing the Channel from northern France.
