UK has released data related to the United Kingdom immigration system for the previous year. The Accredited Official Statistics publication shows that in the year ending June 2024, 1.16 million visas were granted for work, study or family reasons including dependants.
The UK immigration system includes the issuance of short and long-term visas to those outside of the UK, extensions and changes to visas, and granting of settlement and citizenship to those already in the UK.
Work Visas
There were 286,382 visas granted to main applicants in all work categories in the year ending June 2024, 11% fewer than the previous year, but more than double (+109%) 2019 levels.
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There were 89,095 ‘Health and Care Worker’ visas granted to main applicants in the year ending June 2024, a 26% decrease compared to the previous year, with a notable fall in the latest quarter (April to June 2024), which was 81% lower than the same period in 2023.
The number of grants to main applicants on other routes in the ‘Worker’ category (which includes ‘Skilled Worker’ visas) has more than doubled since 2021, but in the latest year has fallen by 3% to 88,653.
There were 260,392 visas issued to work dependants in the year ending June 2024, with ‘Health and Care Worker’ dependants alone accounting for 69% of the total.
The number of ‘Temporary Worker’ visas granted to main applicants in the year ending June 2024 was 77,419, with 34,332 grants for seasonal workers and 24,091 grants on the Youth Mobility Scheme.
Study Visas
There were 432,225 sponsored study visas granted to foreign students in the year ending June 2024, 13% fewer than the previous year but 61% higher than 2019.
Two-thirds (65%) of student visas in the latest year were for masters-level courses.
In the first 6 months of 2024 (January to June), visas issued to dependants of students fell by 81% to 11,675 compared to the same period in 2023 (main applicants fell by 23% over the same period)
Family Visa
In the year ending June 2024, there were 98,906 family-related visa applications, reflecting a significant 40% increase compared to the previous year.
Those arriving on family routes are more likely to stay in the UK than those arriving on work and study visas.
Analysis from the Migrant Journey 2023 report showed that of those whose first leave to enter the UK was on the family route since 2007, 62% had indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after 5 years, increasing to 83% after 10 years. This is much higher than those starting on work and study routes, where 21% and 7% respectively had ILR after 10 years.
Settlement or Citizenship
How many people are granted settlement or citizenship? There were 137,020 grants of settlement in the UK in the year ending June 2024, 17% more than the year ending June 2023, (117,023).
There were almost a quarter of a million (246,488) grants of British citizenship in the year ending June 2024, over a third (37%) more than the year ending June 2023, (180,243)