A visa crackdown has led to a dramatic fall in the number of foreign health and social care workers and students applying to come to Britain.
Official figures showed tens of thousands fewer applications for visas for these categories.
The decline puts the Government on track with its pledge to cut levels of immigration to the UK.
But it also raised concerns over possible worse staff shortages in care homes and parts of the NHS and of fresh blows to the finances of many universities across the country which have significant numbers of foreign students.
Ministers stressed that the Government was working on a skills strategy to train workers already in the UK to fill the job vacancies.
The Home Office visa figures showed that:
* Health and Care main applicants are down 81 per cent or 46,800 in the four months to July, compared with the same period last year, having been in decline since August 2023.
* Health and Care dependent applications are down 71 per cent or 53,100 in the first four months since foreign care workers were stopped from March from being able to bring dependents with them on their visa.
* Sponsored Study main applicants fell by 16 per cent or 30,300 in the first seven months of 2024, compared with the same period last year.
* Sponsored Study dependent visa applications are down 81 per cent or 55,000 in the first seven months of 2024, compared with the same period last year.
* This followed the rule changes that came into effect in January 2024 which prevent students from bringing dependents, apart from those studying postgraduate research courses or courses with government-funded scholarships.
* The monthly number of Skilled Worker visa applications from main applicants were broadly stable between January 2022 and March 2024 at around 6,000 applications per month. Applications increased to 10,100 in April 2024, before reducing again to 6,000 in July 2024.
* There were 28,600 applications for Skilled Work visas between April and July 2024 - a 23 per cent increase compared to the same 4 months in 2023.
The new Labour government has now asked independent advisers, the Migration Advisory Committee, to review labour shortages in key sectors, in particular IT and engineering, and whether visa curbs for skilled workers should be introduced for these groups.
Ben Brindle, a researcher at Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, told The Times: “It’s very probable that the Government will be successful in its aim to reduce net migration — in good part to changes that were made by the previous government.
“But that there are always trade-offs: falls in student numbers could create problems for university finances. And if the decline in health and care visas is because people are put off applying because of new rules, rather than a fall in demand, then it could signal further workforce problems for the health and care sector.”
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News: “Those who do come from overseas to study in our universities and bring great diversity and cultural richness to them, or those who work in our NHS are very welcome here, they are treating people at their most vulnerable and we are very grateful for what they do.
“But it’s also the case that we do need to link the issue of where we are giving overseas visas with a proper strategy here in the UK to ensure that the workforce here gets the skills that they need to fill those jobs as well and that is exactly what the Government will do going forward.”
Ministers have pledged to improve pay and conditions in the social care sector.
Net migration to the UK hit a record 745,000 in 2022 but has since fallen.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have set out a clear plan to bring down historically high levels of legal migration by tackling the root causes behind high international recruitment. By linking immigration, labour market, and skills systems we will ensure we train up our homegrown workforce and address the shortage of skills.
“Immigration brings many benefits to the UK, but it must be controlled and delivered through a fair system.”
But Former Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Today’s data continues to show my stricter approach is working, with student and healthcare dependants banned and skilled workers and family visas requiring much higher earnings.
“Visa applications are down by more than a third where we took action, but Labour want to put this all at risk. They have already binned our Conservative plans to raise the earnings threshold for family dependents, while their ministers openly advocate for lowering EU visa restrictions.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper recently confirmed recently that there will be “no further changes” to the current £29,000-a-year wage threshold Britons need to bring a family member from abroad until a review of the family visa policy has been completed.
