The number of people applying for UK visas to work in the healthcare sector plummeted by 81% between April and July 2024, after the British government, under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, made it more challenging for health and care workers to bring in their families. From April 11, the minimum income required to sponsor a spouse or partner visa was increased from £18,600 (approximately Rs 19,37,718) to £29,000 (around Rs 30,21,174), a 55% increase.

There were also plans to increase it further to £38,700 (approximately Rs 41,31,486) by 2025, as part of efforts to reduce migration.

However, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has now paused plans to further increase the minimum income requirement for sponsoring a family member on a family visa.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that there will be “no further changes” to the £29,000-a-year wage threshold until a review of the family visa policy is completed. This halt is seen as a relief for many Indians who plan to bring their families to the UK.

But, this policy change has significantly impacted Indian families.

According to Home Office statistics, Indians were the second-highest group under the Family Visa category in 2023, with 5,248 visas issued, following Pakistanis and ahead of Bangladeshis. The new rules have made it significantly harder for these families to reunite in the UK.

DECLINE IN HEALTH AND CARE WORKER VISA APPLICATION

The number of Health and Care Worker visa applications from main applicants surged from 4,100 to 18,300 between February 2022 and August 2023, after care workers were added to the skilled worker visa category.

However, applications dropped to 2,900 by July 2024 following the rule changes.

Applications for dependants in this category also saw a sharp decline, falling from 23,300 in August 2023 to 5,100 in July 2024, an overall decrease of 71% from April to July 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

The Skilled Worker visa applications have shown some resilience, with applications increasing to 10,100 in April 2024 before reducing to 6,000 in July 2024. There were 28,600 applications for Skilled Worker visas between April and July 2024, a 23% increase from the same period in 2023.

Dependants of Skilled Workers followed a similar trend, peaking at 8,100 in January 2024 and then falling to 5,800 in July 2024. From April to July 2024, there were 23,400 applications for dependants, a 26% increase from the previous year.

Study visa applications from main applicants dropped by 16% in the first seven months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

This was largely influenced by the new rules effective January 2024, which restrict students from bringing dependants unless they are enroled in postgraduate research courses or government-funded scholarship programmes.

Consequently, applications from dependants of students plummeted by 81% in the same timeframe.