- The Home Office said UK work visas fell to 234,841 in the year ending June 2026.
- Health and Care Worker visas dropped 45%, while Skilled Worker visas fell 48% from the previous year.
- Care-route applications continued shrinking into July 2026, reaching 7,900 applications for the year ending July.
The Home Office published figures on Wednesday showing UK work visas fell to 234,841 in the year ending June 2026, down 18% from the previous year and 62% below the peak in the year ending December 2023. The Health and Care Worker route did most of the damage. It fell hard.
Skilled Worker visas also dropped 48% over the same period. The broader Worker category stood at 120,105, with 49,205 main applicants and 70,900 dependants, and it was 76% below its peak in the year ending December 2023. A big gap opened.
The department’s year-ending June 2026 immigration statistics, published on August 27, 2026, show work-related visa grants have been falling for 2 and a half years. Work visas peaked in the year ending December 2023 at 613,627. The climb ended.
The department said the turn began toward the end of 2023 after it applied more scrutiny to employers in health and social care and stepped up compliance action against employers that did not meet their obligations. That is the official explanation for the drop. The pipeline tightened.
Health and care visas issued 34,143 in the year ending June 2026, down 45% from the previous year. The route was family-heavy, with 79% of visas issued to dependants, so household travel still sat inside the total. That balance shifted.
A separate monthly entry-clearance release showed the slide continued into July 2026. There were 7,900 applications in the year ending July 2026, 65% fewer than in the year ending July 2025 and 95% below the peak in the year ending November 2023. Demand kept falling.
Care-route demand kept shrinking into July
| Measure | Latest figure | Comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Work visas issued | 234,841 | down 18% from the previous year, 62% below the peak in the year ending December 2023 |
| Worker visas issued | 120,105 | down 76% from the peak in the year ending December 2023 |
| Health and care visas issued | 34,143 | down 45% from the previous year |
| Caring Personal Service visas | 344 | down from 107,772 at the peak in the year ending December 2023 |
| Nursing Professional visas | 1,125 | down from 22,858 at the peak in the year ending December 2023 |
Care jobs carried the sharpest losses
The steepest cuts landed in care jobs. Caring Personal Service visas fell to 344 in the year ending June 2026, more than 99% below 107,772 at the peak in the year ending December 2023. Nursing Professional visas dropped to 1,125 from 22,858. Tiny numbers now.
The route’s surge followed its expansion in February 2022 to boost the social care workforce. That change helped lift demand quickly. The peak did not last.
