The number of people applying to come to Britain on a health and care worker visa has dropped significantly after major changes were made under the previous government, figures released on Thursday revealed.
Home Office data shows there were 13,100 applications for the visa between April and August 2024 - 83 per cent fewer than the same five months in 2023, when 75,900 people applied.
In August there were 2,300 applications for health and care worker visas, down from 18,300 in the same month in 2023, after harsher rules were introduced.
There were 26,500 applications for dependents on the health and care route between April and August 2024 - 73 per cent fewer than the five months in 2023.
However skilled work visas requests increased between April and August 2024 to 33,700 applications - 12 per cent more than in 2023.
The previous Tory government enforced strict new rules on overseas care workers in a bid to lower net migration to Britain.
Foreign carers were banned from bringing their loved ones to the UK in March, while the minimum salary required for those arriving on a skilled worker visa rose from £26,200 to £38,700 in April.
Measures requiring care providers to register with the Care Quality Commission if they are sponsoring migrants were also brought in. Meanwhile the minimum income requirement for those bringing dependents to the UK on family visas rose to £29,000-a-year from £18,600, and was set to rise further.
The new Labour government is reviewing the rules and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has ordered the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to investigate wage thresholds and labour shortages in key sectors and whether visa curbs for skilled workers should be introduced.
It comes as a damning report by former health minister Lord Darzi, also published on Thursday, described the NHS as being "in serious trouble".
The rapid review, commissioned by the new Labour government, was completed in nine weeks.
It set out a wide range of challenges impacting the struggling service, including that between 2009 and 2023 the number of nurses working in the community fell by five per cent, while the number of health visitors dropped by nearly 20 per cent.
However, it did not directly mention visa rule changes or Brexit, despite the health sector struggling to recruit staff since the UK left the EU and stricter visa rules came into place.
Minister for Migration and Citizenship Seema Malhotra said: “On the Conservatives’ watch net migration trebled, leaving complete chaos for this new government to clean up.
“The Tories repeatedly broke their promises to the public on immigration levels. James Cleverly left the Home Office with a £6.4 billion overspend and net migration at almost 700,000.
"The Labour government has begun work to bring net migration down.
“We’ve commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to review sectors reliant on high international recruitment.
“We’re working across government to link the immigration system with new training and workforce plans for British workers and stop rogue employers hiring from abroad.
“That’s how we’ll reduce net migration and equip the economy to start growing again.”
