(UK) Work and family visa demand has dropped sharply in 2025 after tougher rules took effect, while study visa applications have steadied and even picked up in recent months. Home Office data as of August 15, 2025 show deep cuts in work routes since late spring and a volatile year for family routes, even as the student pipeline recovers from a weak 2024. Officials frame the changes as a push to cut net migration. Employers, universities, and families say the new rules are biting hard.
Overall trends
- Work routes: steepest fall, with major drops in health and care channels.
- Family routes: volatile, moving in waves tied to rule changes and the Minimum Income Requirement.
- Student routes: steadier recovery for main applicants, but much lower dependent numbers after rule changes.
Work visas: the decline and key figures
Work visa grants (main applicants) totaled 192,000 in the year ending March 2025 — a 39% decrease from the previous year.
- Health and Care Worker visas: main applicant grants fell from a peak of 18,300 (August 2023) to 1,300 (July 2025), an 85% decrease.
- Skilled Worker visas: monthly applications averaged about 6,000 (2022–2024), spiked to 10,100 in April 2024, then fell to 4,900 in July 2025.
- Dependants for work visas followed the same pattern, down to 5,300 in July 2025.
Family routes: waves and impacts
Family routes saw fluctuation tied to policy signals and implementation.
- Monthly applications rose from 7,500 (December 2023) to 12,700 (April 2024) after ministers signalled an income rule hike.
- Applications sank to 5,100 (June 2024) then rebounded to 8,100 (July 2025).
- Annual family-related grants reached 76,000 in the year to March 2025 — a 3% decrease.
- Q1 2025 recorded 15% fewer family unification visas than Q4 2023, linked to the new Minimum Income Requirement.
Student routes: recovery and constraints
Student demand shows signs of recovery among main applicants but large falls in dependants.
- Q1 2025 main applicant study filings: 47,000, a 32% increase over Q1 2024.
- First five months of 2025: 76,400 applications, up 29% on the same period in 2024.
- Annual grants to year ending March 2025: 403,000, a 10% decrease on the prior year (reflecting earlier slump).
- Dependants: fell by 83–84% after January 2024 rule barring most postgraduate-taught students from bringing family (exceptions mainly for research students).
- Applications from India: exceeded 18,000 in Q1 2025, up 29% year-on-year.
Policy changes driving the drop
Tougher rules that reshaped demand came into force at various points:
- July 22, 2025 (major work-route changes)
- Jobs sponsored under the Skilled Worker route must be at RQF level 6+, with limited exceptions for roles on the Immigration Salary List or a Temporary Shortage List.
- General salary floor for Skilled Worker roles rose from £38,700 to £41,700.
- Threshold for Health and Care route remains £25,000.
- Government ended overseas recruitment of care workers; only in‑country switches allowed until July 2028.
- Home Office increased compliance checks on sponsors, especially in health and social care.
- April 2024
- Minimum Income Requirement for family routes increased. Many couples filed before the change, then numbers fell as more sponsors failed to meet the new level.
- May 12, 2025
- Further family policy updates announced in the “Restoring Control over the Immigration System” White Paper, with staged implementation through 2025.
- January 2024 – May 2025 (student-related changes)
- January 2024: most dependants blocked for taught master’s programs.
- May 2025: Graduate Route shortened from two years to 18 months.
- Financial proof standards and visa/NHS fees increased through 2024–2025.
Important: the combination of higher salary floors, higher skill requirements, limits on overseas recruitment for care roles, and more sponsor compliance checks is intended by officials to reduce net migration.
Impact on employers, families, and universities
Employers and care sector
– Ending overseas hiring for care workers prevents new foreign recruits at a time of high local vacancy rates.
– Business groups and care leaders warn of staff gaps.
– Existing care workers in the UK can switch visas in‑country until July 2028, offering limited relief.
– Applications from India dropped sharply in work and health/care roles, reducing a key recruitment pipeline.
Skilled Worker sponsors
– The £41,700 salary floor excludes many lower-paid roles.
– The RQF 6+ skill bar removes a wide set of mid-level roles that previously qualified.
– Tighter compliance checks mean more audits and document requests for sponsors.
– VisaVerge.com analysis: higher pay, higher skill, and tougher checks are aimed at reducing inflows and encouraging local recruitment.
Families
– The spike in filings before April 2024 and the subsequent drop shows many rushed to file before the higher income threshold.
– Advocacy groups call the new rules a “Tax on Love”, saying they split households and hit lower-income and minority sponsors hardest.
– Ministers argue the rules ensure family migrants can be supported without public funds and help cut net migration.
Universities and students
– Sharp fall in dependants reduces fee income from housing and living costs linked to family arrivals.
– Sector groups warn a proposed 6% levy on international tuition fee income could strain budgets.
– Main applicant applications in 2025 suggest a rebound, aided by continued (but shorter) post-study work rights.
– ApplyBoard and HEPI describe a stabilization after weak 2023–2024, but caution that higher costs and checks could slow growth.
– Migration Observatory estimates an immediate fall of 14,000 international students if new levies proceed, with a lasting drop about half that number.
Practical guidance for applicants
- Work routes:
- Secure a job meeting RQF 6+ and pay at least £41,700 (or the going rate if higher), unless the role is on a permitted list.
- Health and Care roles: £25,000 threshold applies, but new overseas recruitment is closed; only in‑country switches until July 2028.
- Family routes:
- Sponsors must meet the higher Minimum Income Requirement set in April 2024.
- Couples unable to meet the new level may wait or consider other lawful options.
- Study routes:
- Main applicants continue to receive offers, but most taught master’s students cannot bring family.
- Graduate Route now offers 18 months post-study work.
How to apply
– Applicants apply online through the UK government portal. Official guidance is at the UK Visas and Immigration pages on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration.
– For Skilled Worker roles, the online application form is here: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/apply-from-outside-uk.
– You’ll need a Certificate of Sponsorship from an approved employer before you start the Skilled Worker form.
– Family and student applicants also apply online and attend a biometric appointment as directed by UKVI.
Reactions and outlook
- The Home Office defends the measures as necessary to “restore control” and build public confidence.
- Universities UK and the Russell Group warn of financial strain from fewer dependants and the proposed levies.
- Care sector groups urge ministers to rethink the overseas hiring ban, saying the drop will worsen shortages.
- Further changes remain possible later in 2025 or early 2026 as policy reviews continue.
This Article in a Nutshell
UK visa demand shifted sharply in 2025 after rule changes. Work routes plunged, family applications fluctuated with income tests, and student main applications rebounded despite steep dependent declines and reduced post-study work rights affecting universities, employers, and households confronting higher salary floors, stricter sponsor checks, and banned overseas care recruitment.
