UK visa trends show sharp fall in care worker applications, modest rise in study visas

UK visa application trends shifted in 2025, with Health and Care Worker visas recording the steepest decline, Skilled Worker visas also falling, while study visas saw a modest increase. Family visas fluctuated in response to income rule changes, and temporary work visas showed mixed movements, according to the latest Home Office figures.

Health and Care Worker visas
Health and Care Worker visas expanded rapidly after care workers were added to the Shortage Occupation List in 2022. Applications grew from 4,100 in February 2022 to 18,300 in August 2023. But stricter checks on employers and new compliance activity triggered a sharp fall, with applications dropping to 2,400 in March 2024 and further to 900 in August 2025.

Dependants followed the same pattern. Numbers peaked at 23,300 in August 2023, then dropped sharply to 3,400 in August 2025.

Skilled Worker visas
Skilled Worker applications were steady at about 6,000 a month between June 2022 and March 2024. A short-lived increase to 10,100 in April 2024 came ahead of Spring rule changes. Applications then fell gradually, reaching 3,400 in August 2025.

Dependants mirrored this trend, with 3,600 applications in August 2025.


Temporary work visas
The Youth Mobility Scheme and Seasonal Worker routes reflected seasonal demand. Youth Mobility Scheme applications declined 11% to 22,100 in the year ending August 2025 compared with the previous year.

Seasonal Worker visas remained within the annual quota of 30,000–40,000 but increased by 9%, reaching 38,600 applications.

Study visas
Study visas followed their usual seasonal pattern, peaking ahead of the academic year. Sponsored study visas reached 427,100 in the year ending August 2025, an increase of 2% over the previous year.

Applications from dependants fell sharply to 21,800, 85% lower than December 2023, after January 2024 rules restricted family members to postgraduate researchers and government scholarship holders.

Family visas
Family visa applications rose to 12,700 in April 2024, up from 7,500 in December 2023, after the government announced higher income requirements. Applications dropped to 5,100 in June 2024 once the rules took effect, but later recovered to 6,800 in August 2025.

The Home Office published the Restoring Control over the Immigration System white paper in May 2025, setting out a new approach to immigration rules. These changes took effect from July 2025 and reshaped the conditions for both Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker visas.

Under the new rules, Skilled Worker visas require jobs to be at RQF level 6 or above, with only limited exceptions for roles listed on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List. The salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas was also raised, moving from £38,700 to £41,700.

For Health and Care Worker visas, the minimum salary threshold was kept unchanged at £25,000. However, a major shift was introduced for care workers. The UK has now ended overseas recruitment for these roles, stopping new international applicants from applying under the current visa route. People already working in care or senior care positions within the UK are allowed to continue switching visas until July 2028.