Big fall in migrant visa applications in UK.

The number of overseas workers, students and their families applying for visas to come to the UK has fallen by a third over the last 12 months.

The sharp decline follows rule changes, introduced by the Conservative government, which banned most international students and health and social care workers bringing family to the UK.Provisional figures from the Home Office suggest the number of migrants and their family members applying for the visas fell from around 141,000 in July 2023 to 91,000 last month.

There was a particularly big drop in the numbers applying for health and care worker visas which dropped by 80% to 2,900.

The Home Office said it would “ensure we train up our home grown workforce and address the shortage of skills”. A spokesperson for the department said that immigration brought “many benefits to the UK, but it must be controlled and delivered through a fair system”.