A stringent immigration policy introduced by former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government has led to a significant drop in the number of visas issued to overseas health workers, according to recent data from the Home Office. This development represents a complex legacy on immigration that the new Labour government must now navigate.
Between April and June, the UK granted 6,564 health and care worker visas to main applicants, marking an 81% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. This decline followed a decision by the previous Tory administration to restrict visa applicants from bringing dependents, a rule also applied to most student visa applications, which subsequently saw a 23% reduction in the first half of the year. The Home Office attributed much of this decline to fewer grants to applicants from India and Nigeria.
These statistics offer an early glimpse into the impact of the visa restrictions that Sunak implemented as part of his broader effort to tackle the surge in immigration. However, these numbers also highlight the challenge he faced in convincing voters of his progress on immigration before the July general election, which resulted in a landslide victory for Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.
Labour, which has also pledged to reduce net migration—a priority issue for many British voters—now inherits a mixed situation. The country has seen tensions flare up recently, with far-right, anti-immigration protests erupting in several cities.
Sunak’s immigration policies also included raising the salary threshold for skilled foreign workers seeking visas to £38,700 ($50,753) annually, though health workers were exempt from this requirement. Overall, the government issued 286,000 work visas in the 12 months leading up to June, an 11% decrease from the previous year.
Ben Brindle, a researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, noted that “Labour may find it easier to meet its commitment to reducing net migration, as many of these trends were already in motion before they took office.” However, the issue is complex, as the government must also address labor shortages that many businesses are struggling to manage.
The Home Office data also revealed that progress on processing asylum claims had stalled in the lead-up to the general election, as the government’s focus shifted to Sunak’s controversial plan to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda—a plan that failed to materialize before his departure from office.
In the second quarter of 2024, decisions were made on 15,965 asylum applications, a 33% drop from the first quarter. The backlog stood at 118,882 by the end of June, down by a third from 2023 but relatively unchanged since March.
Meanwhile, the number of small boats arriving on UK shores remains consistent with the previous year, with around 19,300 arrivals reported so far in 2024, based on Home Office data.
Marley Morris from the Institute for Public Policy Research remarked that “these numbers underscore the challenges the new government faces in managing asylum and migration.” He added that the backlog remains largely unchanged as ministers were preoccupied with the Rwanda plan.
Seema Malhotra, Labour’s migration minister, criticized the Conservatives for leaving the UK’s migration and asylum systems in “chaos.”
Despite these challenges, the data indicate that Sunak’s immigration crackdown, particularly on work visas, has begun to take effect.
The reduction in health and care worker visas also suggests that the government responded to concerns about exploitation in the sector. David Neal, the former Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration, reported that some companies were issued licenses to sponsor workers without proper checks, leading to many firms having their licenses revoked.
Home Office statistics further reveal that 1,023 actions were taken against employers licensed to sponsor skilled workers in the second quarter of 2024, the highest number since 2012.
Dora-Olivia Vicol, chief executive of the Work Rights Centre charity, noted, “Sponsored visas have created a two-tier system where migrant workers are increasingly vulnerable to coercion and forced labor, and they fear speaking out against exploitation due to the threat of losing their visas.”
