Skilled Worker visa applications to UK fall by almost 40%

Applications for Skilled Worker visas have fallen by almost 40% over the past year, according to the latest Home Office figures, as employers continue to adjust to a more restrictive UK immigration system.

Table of Contents

Provisional statistics for the year ending 30 June 2026 show there were 30,400 Skilled Worker visa applications from main applicants, down 39% from the previous year. Applications from dependants also fell, dropping 20% to 39,500 compared with 49,100 in the year ending June 2025.

The figures follow a series of reforms introduced by the government to reduce migration and tighten eligibility for work visas. The latest changes took effect on 22 July 2025 after being announced in the government’s Restoring Control over the Immigration System white paper.

The Home Office said both the Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker routes have shown a gradual decline in monthly applications over the past two years, following record demand in 2022 and 2023.

For employers, the figures underline how international recruitment is becoming more selective as higher salary thresholds and stricter eligibility criteria reduce the pool of workers able to qualify for sponsorship.

Lynsey Blyth, partner and head of immigration at Michelmores, said the latest data demonstrated a significant shift in the UK’s approach to labour migration. She said: “The UK has now firmly moved from a volume-based immigration system to a selection-based immigration system, and many businesses are only just beginning to understand what that means.

Blyth warned that lowering immigration could create as many problems as it solved: “The real test for the UK is no longer whether it can reduce migration numbers. It is whether it can remain one of the world’s most attractive destinations for highly skilled professionals, entrepreneurs, investors and internationally mobile families.”

Although the sharpest decline was seen on the Health and Care Worker route, where applications from main applicants fell 65% year-on-year to 8,500, the Skilled Worker route remains the main channel used by employers recruiting overseas talent. The Home Office said the downward trend reflected the cumulative impact of immigration reforms introduced since late 2023, alongside more recent rule changes implemented in July 2025.

The reforms introduced on 22 July 2025 increased the minimum skill level for Skilled Worker visas to regulated qualifications framework (RQF) level 6 or above, except for roles included on the immigration salary list or temporary shortage list.

The general salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas also increased from £38,700 to £41,700, while workers sponsored under the temporary shortage list lost the ability to bring dependants to the UK.

The government also closed the Health and Care Worker route to new overseas care worker recruits, although eligible care workers already in the UK can continue switching visas until July 2028.

Further changes followed later in the year, including a 32% increase in the immigration skills charge from December 2025, an increase in the English language requirement for Skilled Worker applicants from B1 to B2 level in January 2026, and the introduction of a nationality-based “visa brake” for certain overseas applications from March 2026.