The number of skilled workers arriving in the UK has fallen to its lowest level since 2021, with sharp declines in health, care and science roles.
In 2025, just 45,797 Skilled Worker visas were issued to main applicants, according to new data from the Work Rights Centre – the lowest annual total since the UK left the EU.
What’s more, the figures mark the ninth consecutive quarterly decline, with health and social care roles hardest hit.
Visas for caring personal service roles plummeted from 107,847 in 2023 to 3,178 last year. In the final three months of 2025, only 23 such visas were granted.
The collapse comes as 78,330 adult social care vacancies remain unfilled in England, with a 6.3% vacancy rate – almost three times the national average. Meanwhile, care worker roles specifically face a 7.6% vacancy rate.
Similar patterns have also been outlined in the health sector. Nursing visas fell 93% from a 2022 peak, leaving 25,504 NHS positions unfilled and medical practitioners visas, including GPs, dropped 30%.
Following the same trend, therapy professionals saw a 73% decline.
To provide a bigger picture, the general Skilled Worker route more than halved since 2022, with 6,072 visas issued in the final quarter. Successive governments have raised minimum salary requirements, restricted dependants’ rights and increased sponsorship costs.
The charity warns that while the government’s goal of reducing immigration is being achieved, it comes at a severe cost to public services and business.
Matthew Percival of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said businesses already have incentives to invest in domestic training, but need a stable workforce first. The absence of skill is why they’re going ‘to the international market in the first place.’
Homecare Association figures show 27% of homecare contracts pay below minimum wage costs, leaving little room for investment.
Alongside this, the Work Rights Centre warned migrant workers remain tied to their sponsoring employers, limiting their bargaining power. Proposed reforms would extend this tie and double the settlement waiting period -10 years for most workers and 15 years for medium-skilled roles.
‘The government’s narrow focus on reducing immigration comes at a time when other aspects of the system are in urgent need of reform,’ the charity said. ‘It is time to change focus.’
Image: Clem Onojeghuo/UnSplash
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