UK visa applications drop by 35% in one year after policy restricting dependants

The UK government says visa applications have dropped from 141,000 to 91,000 —about 35.46 percent— since changes to the immigration policy came into effect.

In December 2023, the government introduced new rules to the reduce immigration from a record 1.22 million.

The changes, which came into effect in January 2024, banned international students from bringing dependants, except those on postgraduate research courses or government-funded scholarships.

According to statistics by the Home Office, study visa applications between January to July 2024 reduced by 16 percent compared with January to July 2023.

Similarly, there were 13,100 applications from dependants of students between January and July 2024 —about 81 percent fewer than January to July 2023.

The country also recorded an 80 percent fall in the number of applications for health and care worker visas within this period

“Monthly numbers of Health and Care Worker visa applications from main applicants increased from 4,100 to 18,300 between February 2022 and August 2023, following the addition of care workers to the skilled worker visa. Applications have decreased since August 2023, falling to 2,900 in July 2024,” the report said.

The government said it is training a “homegrown workforce” to address the shortage of skilled workers.

Nadra Ahmed, executive co-chairman of the National Care Association, told the BBC that some workers within the sector have relocated to countries with less restrictive immigration policy.

The government has, however, insisted that immigration must be controlled despite its “many benefits” to the UK.