UK Net Migration Slumps 80% as 74,000 Indians Exit

Net migration to the United Kingdom has dropped at a pace not seen in decades, with new figures showing an 80% fall from the recent peak and a sharp rise in departures by Indian nationals. Data released by the Office for National Statistics for the year ending June 2025 puts net migration at 204,000, down from 944,000 in the 12 months to March 2023. Among those leaving, Indians are now the largest non‑EU group, with 74,000 people exiting the country, including tens of thousands who first arrived on study visas or work permits.

The turning point in post‑Brexit migration

The headline numbers point to a clear turning point in the UK’s post‑Brexit immigration story. Just two years ago ministers faced questions about record net migration driven by new humanitarian routes, booming demand for British degrees and an open door for health and care workers. Now, a mix of tougher rules, higher costs and limited post‑study options is pushing many people to leave sooner than they once planned and deterring others from coming at all.

Key takeaway: a deliberate policy shift has reduced headline net migration, but it is also reshaping students’ and workers’ expectations about staying long‑term in the UK.

Indian nationals at the centre of the reversal

Indian nationals are at the heart of the recent change. Of the 74,000 Indians who left in the year to June 2025:

• 45,000 departed on study visas
• 22,000 on work visas
• 7,000 under other routes

Over the same period, the UK issued around 90,000 new study visas and 46,000 work visas to Indians. While still large, these issues represent a slowdown from recent years and show departures are beginning to erode what was once one of the UK’s fastest‑growing migrant communities.

Collapse in the Skilled Worker route

At the heart of the shift is a marked collapse in grants under the Skilled Worker route.

• In Q3 2025, only 11,733 Skilled Worker visas were issued, including health and care roles.
• By comparison, there were more than 45,000 health and care worker visas in Q3 2023.
• For the wider Skilled Worker category, grants fell from 21,035 in Q1 2024 to just 9,105 in Q3 2025.

This scale of tightening is now feeding into net migration statistics and the day‑to‑day plans of students, nurses, software engineers and other workers who once saw Britain as a long‑term base.

Visa grants and departures — at a glance

Policy changes driving the shift

Officials say the fall is a deliberate result of policy choices made over the past two years, including:

• Higher salary thresholds for many work visas
• Increased Immigration Health Surcharge and sponsorship fees
• Tight limits on dependants for most postgraduate students
• Lengthening the route to permanent residence — doubling the usual five‑year wait to ten years for many Points Based System migrants

These moves, aimed at cutting headline net migration, have made the UK a more expensive and less predictable option for families planning long‑term.

Impact on international students

For international students — especially Indians on study visas — the mood has changed quickly.

• The Graduate route still allows many to stay for up to two or three years after finishing their degree.
• However, fewer now see it as a reliable bridge to secure work and settlement.
• Employers are more cautious about sponsorship costs and changing rules, so students report shorter contracts, lower‑paid roles and pressure to return home once the Graduate visa ends.

The 45,000 Indian students recorded as leaving in the latest figures reflect that tougher, shorter journey.

Shifting preferences among Indian families

Consultants advising Indian families on overseas education say interest in alternative destinations has grown steadily since the UK tightened dependant and work rules. Parents who once assumed a British master’s degree would naturally lead to stable employment and eventual permanent residence are now asking more about return on investment.

Many families are comparing the UK with other options:

• United States 🇺🇸
• Canada 🇨🇦
• Australia
• EU states

These alternatives may offer more straightforward post‑study work rights and clearer routes to long‑term residence, even if competition is intense.

Effects on skilled professionals and employers

For skilled professionals already in Britain, the Skilled Worker slowdown creates real anxiety about job security and long‑term prospects.

• Some employees are told their wages no longer meet higher thresholds at renewal.
• Employers are cutting back on sponsored roles altogether in some cases.

Those pressures help explain why 22,000 Indians on work visas chose to leave in the latest 12‑month period.

Employers and sectors affected:

• NHS hospitals facing longer vacancy times for nurses
• Technology firms experiencing delays filling specialist roles and moving some projects overseas
• Universities bracing for smaller cohorts if word spreads that the UK is no longer a reliable launchpad for global careers

Political debate and government position

Ministers maintain the pullback was necessary. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary James Cleverly have both promised to bring net migration down from the record levels after the pandemic and new humanitarian schemes.

They argue:

• Businesses should train more local workers
• Family migration should not be driven by students using short courses as a doorway to work

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics give ministers an early headline: a drop from 944,000 to 204,000 in just over two years.

Critics’ concerns

Critics say the apparent success on paper masks deeper risks for Britain’s place in global mobility.

• Analysis by VisaVerge.com warns that the fall in Skilled Worker grants, especially in health and care, could worsen staffing shortages in hospitals and social care.
• Business groups say when Indian and other non‑EU professionals find the UK too uncertain or expensive, they often go to countries that welcome their skills and families.

Personal consequences for Indian families

For many Indian families, the change is intensely personal:

• Students who arrived in 2021–2022 expected a ladder from a master’s degree to a Skilled Worker visa, only to find new salary thresholds out of reach.
• Some have had sponsorship offers withdrawn after rule changes.
• Others find a spouse can no longer join them because of tighter dependant policies.

In these circumstances, a one‑way ticket back to Mumbai, Delhi or Hyderabad can seem like the only sensible option.

How advisers and other countries are responding

Education agents and immigration advisers in India report they now present the British route more cautiously:

• They avoid describing an automatic ladder from study to settlement.
• They warn that rules can change during a student’s course and staying on is no longer guaranteed.
• Some agencies say students now plan the UK as a shorter stop — gain a degree, work briefly, then move to a country with clearer paths to long‑term residence.

Other countries are positioning to capture this talent shift:

• Continental European universities market English‑taught degrees alongside easier work rights and routes to long‑term status.
• The United States 🇺🇸 and Canada 🇨🇦 remain major competitors because the path from temporary visa to permanent residence and citizenship is perceived as stronger.

Economic implications and long‑term risks

Economists warn the visa decisions made now will have long‑lasting effects:

• Fewer international students (who pay higher fees) may hurt university finances, especially at regional campuses reliant on Indian enrolments.
• Reduced inflows of young workers could weigh on tax revenues and the capacity to fund pensions and public services as the population ages.
• Some employers may train local staff, but others may move investment abroad rather than wait for domestic skills to develop.

Advice for prospective migrants

Prospective migrants in India are advised to plan carefully and not assume automatic progress from one status to another. Lawyers and advisers recommend:

• Monitor salary thresholds, sponsorship duties and dependant limits
• Consider backup options in other countries or remote roles not tied to a single system
• Treat the UK route as less certain than it was a few years ago

For now, the numbers show a simple fact: fewer Indians are staying in the UK than they did just recently.