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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Politics
Ian Jones

Number of foreign nationals arriving on work visas falls by nearly a half

Changes in legal migration rules are likely to have contributed to a steep drop in people arriving in the UK on visas (Rick Findler/PA) - (PA Archive)

The number of visas issued to foreign nationals coming to the UK for employment, study, family or humanitarian reasons has fallen sharply, driven by a steep drop in people arriving for work.

Some 834,977 entry visas were issued in the year to June 2025 across these categories, down nearly a third (32%) from 1.23 million in the previous 12 months, according to new Home Office data.

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