Government data has shown that the number of work visas issued by the UK in 2025, until December, has declined by 19% compared to 2024, reflecting the ongoing impact of tighter visa rules.
Successive governments have attempted to introduce tighter controls on visa rules to limit legal migration, also to deter immigrants arriving illegally via small boats and take action to deport those who do succeed in entering the country through unofficial means.
The Labour government has been under pressure from Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, which has been campaigning on an anti-immigration platform in current opinion polls and demanding policy changes. This has placed Prime Minister Keir Starmer under intense pressure to show he has the issue under control.
Immigration Cut By Half From 2023?
The recent data released on Thursday shows that 168,000 work visas were issued in 2025, 19% lower than in 2024 and 50% lower than in 2023. The fall has included halving the number of visas issued for work in the healthcare sector. The number of applications from workers in the industry also saw a sharp decline by November 2025, falling to 2,900 applications as compared to the 23,000 applications in 2023. Other skilled worker visas have seen a decline of 36%.
This shows a continuing trend from the data released by the Office for National Statistics last year, which showed that long-term net migration to Britain fell by more than two-thirds in the year to June.
Illegal immigration, however, has seen a rise. According to the data, 46,497 arrivals have been detected via illegal routes, which is up 7% from the previous year. Of these arrivals, nearly 89% were in small boats.
Asylum seekers have also seen a decline. 100,625 people claimed asylum in the UK during this period, which is 4% fewer than in 2025. The number of forced removals from Britain has seen a rise of 21%, with 9,900 deportations taking place.
(with inputs from Reuters)
