TBM Staff - Mumbai
The number of UK visa applications for healthcare sector jobs plummeted by 81% between April and July 2024, following policy changes under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. These changes made it more difficult for healthcare workers to bring their families to the UK. On April 11, the minimum income requirement to sponsor a spouse or partner visa was raised from EUR 18,600 to EUR 29,000—a 55% increase—with plans to increase it further to EUR 38,700 by 2025.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has since paused the plan to further increase the minimum income requirement. However, the policy shift has already had a significant impact on Indian families. Home Office statistics from 2023 show that Indians were the second-largest group under the Family Visa category, with 5,248 visas issued.
Health and Care Worker visa applications saw a dramatic decrease, falling from 18,300 in August 2023 to just 2,900 by July 2024, following the rule changes. Similarly, applications for dependants in this category dropped by 71% from April to July 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Although Skilled Worker visa applications showed some resilience, rising to 10,100 in April 2024 before declining to 6,000 in July 2024, the number of dependants also fell, peaking at 8,100 in January 2024 and then dropping to 5,800 by July 2024.
Additionally, study visa applications from main applicants decreased by 16% in the first seven months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. This decline was largely due to new rules implemented in January 2024, which limit students from bringing dependants unless they are enrolled in postgraduate research courses or government-funded scholarship programmes.
