The latest migration statistics show a steep decline in net migration to the UK, as immigration policy continues to constrict work routes.
While much of the political conversation in recent months and years has been focused on illegal migration, the latest Home Office migration statistics (which you can read in full here) show that government policy is also having a significant impact on legal immigration routes, such as work visas.
Work visas
Just 253,000 new work visas were granted in the year ending March 2026, representing a 17% reduction on the year ending March 2025 and a massive 59% drop from the year ending December 2023. This includes 111,000 Skilled Worker visas, being roughly a quarter of the number granted in the year ending December 2023.
Rising salary thresholds are likely to have contributed significantly to this steep decline – before April 2024, the general minimum salary threshold was just £25,600 per annum (although the “going rate” threshold was higher for most occupations). Now, a new Skilled Worker visa requires a minimum salary of £41,700 per annum, unless a discount applies. This has made sponsoring Skilled Workers a much less attractive options for some employers, and entirely unaffordable for others.
We have also seen a sharp rise in sponsor licence revocations and refusals, as the Home Office’s compliance crackdown continues, with far more scrutiny being applied to prospective and current sponsors than previous. With fewer business able to obtain or retain a sponsor licence, the number of Skilled Workers that can be sponsored naturally falls.
Who stays, who leaves?
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) have published a separate report titled Who stays, who leaves? This report considers whether certain categories of Skilled Worker migrants are more likely to remain in the UK longer term. The MAC found that Skilled Workers in the health and social work sectors were disproportionately likely to remain in the UK compared to other occupations.
Interestingly, migrants earning less than £40,000 per annum were shown to have higher stay rates than those earning over £125,000 per annum. The Government has spoken about shifting immigration policy towards attracting highly skilled workers in tech and other growing industries, but this trend might suggest that these workers are more likely to be transient, perhaps due to greater career mobility and attractive salary offers abroad.
ILR and British citizenship
Returning to the Home Office statistics, grants of Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) remained roughly consistent overall. We expect ILR grants to increase in the coming months, as migrants rush to apply before the earned settlement rules come into force in Autumn 2026.
British citizenship grants saw a drop of 12% when compared to the previous year, although the number of grants (237,000) remains high overall, with this being the second highest annual figure for over twenty years. That would speak to growing fears over Reform UK’s proposed policy of scrapping ILR, with British citizenship perhaps becoming the last bastion of permanent residence rights for those who do not qualify under the EUSS – you can read more on this here.
If you need support with applying for a visa, ILR or British citizenship, or need any help with recruiting workers from abroad, please get in touch at [email protected]
