The Home Office has published the UK immigration statistics for the year ending June 2025.
In broad terms, the UK saw a slowdown in new arrivals across most legal routes, particularly in work, study and family categories, but an increase in progression to settlement and citizenship. Sponsor licence numbers also reveal a marked change, with a large pool of employers now registered but far fewer new licences being granted.
Humanitarian grants also contracted as temporary schemes wound down, although refugee resettlement continued.
UK Work Visa Statistics 2025
Work visas fell sharply compared with the previous year. Just over 182,000 visas were issued to main applicants, representing a decline of about one third. The reduction was concentrated in certain routes where new policies directly affected eligibility. While this total still stood above the pre-pandemic level, the scale of the fall demonstrates the impact of salary thresholds and restrictions on dependants.
The Health and Care Worker visa had been one of the fastest-growing categories in earlier years. In 2025 it dropped to around 21,000 grants. Caring personal service occupations fell by nearly nine tenths, and nursing roles fell by about four fifths.
The fall reflects the government’s decision to limit the ability of care workers to bring dependants unless their sponsor was the NHS or a regulated provider. Skilled worker salary and skills thresholds were also increased, pricing many roles out of eligibility. Some care providers also lost their sponsor status following compliance checks, reducing capacity to recruit overseas.
Temporary worker routes told a different story. Roughly 78,000 visas were issued under the Seasonal Worker programme and the Youth Mobility Scheme. This figure was similar to last year but nearly double the level of 2019. Demand in agriculture, food production and youth exchange kept the route steady even as long-term worker visas declined.
Applications to extend existing work visas rose by almost one quarter. This growth reflects the cycle of earlier admissions: those who entered during the expansion years of 2021 and 2022 are now eligible to renew. The figures show how earlier policy choices continue to shape today’s flows, as previous waves of migrants progress through the system.
Sponsor Licence Statistics 2025
By June 2025, around 121,000 organisations and institutions held a licence to sponsor workers or students. In 2019 there were just over 32,000. The growth reflects the end of free movement and the requirement for employers to register formally if they want to recruit non-UK nationals through the sponsorship system. The Register of Licensed Sponsors now covers a wide cross-section of the economy, from multinationals to small firms in hospitality and care.
Despite the growing stock of existing sponsors, new approvals slowed markedly. The Home Office made decisions on about 34,000 sponsor licence applications in the year to June 2025, down from more than 50,000 the year before. Fewer than 20,000 were granted. Around 15,000 were rejected or withdrawn, leaving approval rates much lower than in previous years.
The slowdown suggests both reduced demand from employers and also greater scrutiny from the Home Office. Sectors under compliance pressure, such as social care and hospitality, have found it harder to secure new licences.
Employers already on the register retain their ability to hire from abroad, but operate under close compliance scrutiny from the Home Office through digital and onsite audits.
Study Visa Statistics 2025
Universities and colleges sponsored around 414,000 study visas in the year to June 2025. This was four per cent lower than the previous year, yet still well above the numbers seen before the pandemic.
While international demand for UK education remains strong, shifts in policy have changed the composition of entrants. A policy introduced in January 2024 restricted most international students from bringing dependants. As a result, the number of visas for family members dropped to about 18,000 from nearly 100,000 the year before. This fall in international student numbers has hit universities and local communities that relied on the spending and contributions of international families.
The Graduate visa continues to play an important role in the attractiveness of UK higher education. It allows graduates to stay for up to two years to work or look for work. Despite political debate about its future, the route remains in place and provides continuity for institutions marketing to international applicants.
Family Route Statistics 2025
Family visa applications fell by almost one quarter to around 76,000. Grants fell to about 71,000, down 15 per cent on the previous year. The decline was driven by partner visas, which dropped by more than one quarter after the increase in the minimum income requirement in April 2024.
In contrast, refugee family reunion visas rose to around 21,000, the highest level since records began in 2005. The growth reflects demand among refugees already in the UK to bring close relatives, even as other family routes tightened.
Humanitarian Routes
Humanitarian schemes accounted for around 62,000 grants of leave in the year, a fall of one third compared with the year before. The reduction was largely due to fewer applications under the Ukraine schemes.
Refugee resettlement programmes granted about 7,400 places. The Afghan resettlement programme made up the majority of this number. Although smaller than the Ukraine schemes, Afghan resettlement represents a long-term commitment, with higher per capita support.
Settlement and Citizenship
About 163,000 people were granted settlement in the year to June 2025. This was nearly one fifth higher than the previous year. Many were workers who had completed the required period under skilled routes. Grants for people with refugee or protection status also rose, reflecting the natural cycle of earlier arrivals becoming eligible.
Naturalisation reached about 257,000, an increase of four per cent on the year before and double the figure seen in 2021. Migrants who have lived in the UK for five years or more are increasingly choosing to secure nationality. Legislative changes have also simplified access for children born in the UK once their parents have settled. Rising citizenship numbers show how earlier cohorts of migrants are embedding into long-term residence and identity.
EU Settlement Scheme Statistics 2025
The EU Settlement Scheme granted about 335,000 people settled status in the year to June 2025. This was slightly fewer than in the previous year. Repeat applications fell to about 260,000 as more upgrades from pre-settled to settled status happened automatically.
An automated system introduced in January 2025 accounted for around 37,000 upgrades in the first half of the year. The scheme is moving from registration to maintenance. Advocacy groups, however, continue to call for physical proof alongside digital records to reduce the risk of discrimination in work and housing.
Impact on workforce planning and UK-bound talent
The fall in new work visas and the slowdown in sponsor licence approvals highlight that employers can no longer assume an automatic inflow of overseas labour. Health and care roles were hit hardest, and higher thresholds now apply across many sectors.
Yet the system still offers pathways for employers who plan ahead, obtain the right advice and take a strategic approach to recruitment. Those who adapt will continue to access global talent, even if the flow is more selective than before.
With fewer new entrants, the opportunity shifts to retention. The rise in visa extensions and settlement grants shows that many international staff already in the UK are choosing to stay. Employers that actively support employees through the extension and settlement process can secure greater continuity, lower recruitment costs and stronger institutional knowledge. What looks like a constraint can in fact be turned into a long-term advantage if organisations position themselves as supportive sponsors.
Sponsor licensing has become more demanding, but this change also creates a clear opportunity. The rise in refusals and withdrawals demonstrates that weaker operators are leaving the market. Employers that invest in robust HR systems, record-keeping and audit readiness will not only maintain access to overseas recruitment but also stand out in tight labour markets. Compliance can become a competitive strength rather than a burden.
The reduction in dependant numbers has altered the international student route, but the Graduate visa continues to produce a steady flow of early-career talent with UK qualifications. Employers who build structured pathways from graduate hires into long-term roles, aligned with visa extension and settlement milestones, will capture significant benefits. For sectors with skills shortages, the Graduate visa remains a valuable pipeline.
Family visas are harder to secure, yet refugee family reunion is rising and humanitarian resettlement remains in place. Employers who understand these routes and factor them into their workforce planning can broaden recruitment options while supporting diversity and inclusion goals.
The growth in settlement and citizenship shows that international staff are embedding more deeply into UK society. Employers who encourage and assist staff on this journey will strengthen loyalty, secure long-term workforce stability and reduce turnover. In sectors where continuity is a challenge, this is a major opportunity to build a committed, settled workforce.
Need Assistance?
The 2025 figures confirm what we as advisers already knew about the impact of government policy on legal migration to the UK, that employers are facing a more selective, compliance-heavy system.
Workforce planning now demands a dual focus: developing domestic talent pipelines while maximising the contribution of existing international staff. Those who adapt quickly by integrating immigration strategy with HR, compliance and long-term retention planning will be better placed to remain competitive and to thrive.
We are working with organisations to support high-impact talent strategies through effective international recruitment and workforce planning. For specialist guidance, contact our advisers today.
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Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals.
