By Lucy Adautin
The United Kingdom has seen a significant 40% decline in visa applications following the implementation of stricter immigration policies in December 2023, aimed at limiting the number of dependants international students can bring with them.
According to official data released by the Home Office recently, the number of visa applications dropped from 141,000 to 91,000, a decline of more than 30% since the new rules took effect in January 2024.
These policy changes now restrict international students from bringing dependants unless they are enrolled in postgraduate research programs or government-funded scholarship schemes.
The new regulations are part of the UK government’s broader strategy to curb immigration, which reached a record high of 1.22 million last year. The impact of these measures has been particularly evident in the education sector.
From January to July 2024, study visa applications decreased by 16% compared to the same period in 2023. More notably, there was an 81% drop in visa applications from the dependants of students, underscoring the sharp impact of the new rules.
The healthcare sector has also been hit hard, with applications for Health and Care Worker visas plunging by 80% during the same timeframe. This comes after a significant increase in applications following the addition of care workers to the skilled worker visa category in 2022.
However, this upward trend reversed after August 2023, with the number of applications dwindling to just 2,900 by July 2024. “Monthly numbers of Health and Care Worker visa applications from main applicants surged from 4,100 to 18,300 between February 2022 and August 2023, following the inclusion of care workers in the skilled worker visa category. Applications have been on the decline since August 2023, dropping to 2,900 by July 2024,” the report stated.
