Work visas granted (UK)
Source: Home Office, series Entry clearance visas granted, work category, main applicants and dependants (Vis_D02). Quarterly in Immigration system statistics (next: 26 November 2026, covering the year ending September 2026). The Home Office also publishes monthly provisional figures on applications for key work routes. File URLs change each quarter
What it measures
This is the number of entry clearance visas granted for work, to people applying from outside the UK, in a rolling 12-month period. It includes dependants (partners and children) of main applicants. Work routes include Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, temporary workers such as seasonal workers, and other categories. It does not include people who switch to a work visa from inside the UK, extensions, or Irish citizens and people with settled status, who do not need visas. Visas granted are not the same as people arriving: some never travel and some stay only briefly.
How to read it
Check whether a figure includes dependants: in the year ending June 2026 main applicants received 158,722 work visas and dependants 76,119. The 'Worker' category (longer-term sponsored routes) is narrower than all work visas. Visa grants are an early indicator; for how many people stay, use net migration from the ONS, which counts long-term moves rather than permissions. Policy changes announced in December 2023 and introduced during 2024, and further changes from 22 July 2025, affect trends, so note the dates.
Background
Between the years ending June 2010 and June 2021 fewer than 200,000 work visas were issued each year, while EU citizens could work in the UK without visas. Grants rose after 2021, with Health and Care Worker visas growing sharply after the route was expanded in February 2022, and peaked at 613,627 in the year ending December 2023. By the year ending June 2026 work visas had fallen 18% in a year and 62% from the peak. Health and Care Worker visas were 34,143, down 45% on a year earlier, and dependants made up 79% of them.
Other parts of the UK
How many work visas did the UK grant in the last year?
The Home Office granted 234,841 work-related visas, including dependants, in the year ending June 2026. Of these, 158,722 went to main applicants and 76,119 to dependants. The total was 18% lower than a year earlier.
How many Skilled Worker visas are granted?
Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker visas both sit in the Home Office 'Worker' category, which totalled 120,105 grants including dependants in the year ending June 2026, 30% fewer than a year earlier. Route-level figures, including Skilled Worker on its own, are in the Home Office visa data tables.
How many Health and Care Worker visas have been granted?
In the year ending June 2026, 34,143 Health and Care Worker visas were issued, 45% fewer than the previous year. Main applicant grants fell to 7,228. Main applicant grants had peaked at 145,823 in the year ending December 2023.
Why have work visas fallen?
The Home Office links the fall to more scrutiny of employers in health and social care, compliance action, policy changes announced in December 2023 and introduced during 2024, and further changes from 22 July 2025 following the immigration white paper. Applications for the main sponsored routes also fell sharply.
Do work visa numbers show how many people moved to the UK to work?
Not exactly. They count permissions granted, not arrivals or how long people stay. The ONS estimates long-term immigration and emigration by reason, which is the source for net migration figures.
Related questions
- What is net migration to the UK?
- What is the Graduate route visa and how many people get it?
- How many international students are in the UK?
- How many people work in adult social care in England?
More on this source: Home Office statistics (immigration, borders and policing)
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