Health and Care Worker visa applications: In a significant move to tighten immigration control, the UK government introduced new regulations that have led to a sharp decline in the number of overseas health and care workers applying for visas for relocating to the UK.
The latest statistics, released by the government on Wednesday, reveal that only 12,400 applications for the Health and Care Worker visa were made from January to April this year.
This marks a dramatic 76% drop compared to the 50,900 applications submitted during the same period last year.
The decline in visa applications follows recent changes in visa rules, including an increase in the minimum salary requirement from £26,000 to £38,700.
Additionally, social care workers are no longer permitted to bring dependents under their visas, further contributing to the reduction in applications.
These stringent measures reflect the government’s broader efforts to curb net migration figures by tightening both legal and illegal routes into the UK.
Migrants and stakeholders within the health and care sector have expressed concern over the new rules.
Many argue that the higher salary threshold and restrictions on dependents will deter skilled workers from coming to the UK, potentially exacerbating existing staff shortages in the health and social care sectors.
As the government continues to implement these measures, the impact on the healthcare system and the broader implications for immigration policy remain closely watched by our team.
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