Recent reports in the British media showed surprising results from an analysis of immigration data. Applications for visas to work as chefs overtook applications to work as computer programmers. At face value, this is a surprising development because the British government has continuously reiterated its desire to focus immigration policy on attracting highly skilled, tech-savvy workers to boost the UK’s aim of becoming a digital superpower.

The figures suggest the British economy is more concerned with the nation’s stomachs than it is with the nation’s IT infrastructure.

According to a report in the Financial Times, some 6,203 chefs were granted skilled worker visas in the year to March 2024, a rise of 54 per cent on the previous year. In the same period the number of work permits granted to programmers and software developers more than halved from 8,752 to 4,280.

Both these professions are popular with Indian migrants. Indeed the Indian restaurant industry, which is particularly large in the UK where an anglicised curry dish called Chicken Tikka Masala is often cited as the nation’s favourite dish, has lobbied the government for years to relax immigration rules to allow more hospitality workers into the UK.

This glut of chefs may sound like good news for Indians hoping to migrate to the UK but there is some bad news behind the data. The figures are an anomaly caused by changes in the rules around the skilled worker visa, which is the work permit that the chefs in the figures were granted.

Chefs are among the lower-paid occupations in the Skilled Worker visa bracket and are likely to be priced out of the visa system in future, because the minimum salary requirement has risen to £38,700, or £30,960 for younger workers and the average annual salary of a chef in the UK was £22,877 in April 2023. Most restaurants are unlikely to be able to afford to pay chefs at the new salary level. The uplift in visas for chefs is most likely the result of a rush of applications to beat the new threshold.

Indeed, official figures have yet to catch up with the most recent changes to the UK immigration system, which have created more restrictions and raised visa fees. However it is believed that the trend for migration is downward. There was a drop of 10 percent in net migration in 2023 to 685,000 and data also shows a drop in visa applications.

So, what are the options for Indians hoping to come to the UK to work?

The door is closed for many in middle-skilled roles such as retail and hospitality, due to the salary threshold increase. However, health and care visas are mostly unaffected by these changes and there is still a significant need in Britain for workers in the care sector.

Earlier this year rules were introduced to stop visas for dependents of care workers, which means that any married Indians cannot bring their spouse or children with them. But for young Indians with no family commitments, this visa route remains an option.

There are also plenty of options for skilled workers in the fields of IT, engineering, science, pharmaceuticals and veterinary medicine.

Every year the UK also offers 3,000 to Indians under the Young Professionals scheme, which is allocated via a ballot. To qualify for the 24-month visa applicants must be between 18 and 30 years old with a bachelor’s degree or above. Applicants must show £2,530 (INR 264,230) in savings for 28 consecutive days and not be financially responsible for children under 18. The second round for applications takes place in July.