Recent Home Office data revealed that only 181,000 work visas were granted out of 560,000 visas requested in the past 4 years. The Home Office revealed that 67% of visa applications were declined. This left key sectors lacking valuable foreign skilled workers to fuel their growth.
There is a need for work visas in these sectors, as only 33% are issued. This issue is not only due to a lack of acceptance, but also because the requirements are unrealistic. For example, the annual fee for highly-skilled work visas is as high as $3,000.
Charge skilled workers three times more than a visa for healthcare, and you’re deterring talent out of the UK. We should instead be encouraging applicants to contribute to our economic growth.
Which fields are affected?
These changes in immigration laws are affecting specific industries and hurting certain areas.
This topic has received a lot more attention in recent months, because these sectors are feeling the impact of a lack of talent needed to achieve the economic growth that the UK is expected to deliver. This has caused people in this industry to question home office’s ‘unit purpose’ and system, because they are not doing what they should be, which is attracting high-skilled employees to the UK.
Downing Street announced the delay of the updated government immigration strategy, which aims to reduce net migration. The White Paper that the government says will outline their plans to fix the UK’s “broken migration system” was originally scheduled to be released earlier this year, but now is only expected after the local election in May.
Centuro Global’s report How to Fix the UK’s Broken Visa System shows that certain sectors face severe talent shortages. If these issues aren’t addressed, it could affect national priorities like AI development, net zero and the future of London.
What are the 8 key sectors affected?
The Government’s Invest 2035 Industrial strategy, released in 2024 highlights eight sectors they believe will be part the strategy to promote economic growth and take Britain further. The key sectors are:
– Advanced Manufacturing
Clean Energy Industries
– Creative industries
– Defence
– Digital and Technologies
– Financial services
– Life sciences
Professional and Business Services
Recent statistics show that less than a third of UK work visas awarded in the last four years went to professionals from these sectors. This may indicate that the UK is falling behind other countries in attracting international talent. It is not surprising that there has been an enormous drop in STEM. After all, most Brits would welcome skilled professionals working in STEM fields to help our country improve itself.
It is not clear to the public and to the people in the industry why people with high-level skills are not being encouraged to move here.
Changes to the Skilled Worker Visa
The skilled work visa was changed in 2024, and then again in March 2025. The former Conservative government tightened regulations on the Skilled Worker Route to reduce net migration. This included raising the minimum salary threshold from $48,000 to $52,000 and replacing the Shortage Occupation List by a more restrictive Immigration Salary List. Salary discounts were also eliminated for roles in shortage occupations.
The Skilled Worker route is designed to accommodate a variety of jobs, both high and low-skilled. Any measures that discourage employers from hiring foreign workers for these lower-skilled roles will also prevent high-value companies from getting the talent that they need. This is neither convenient nor sensible. If one cannot have it, then neither can the second. This again is a matter of priority, and many will suffer. It has further negative effects on the UK. It’s a relatively new change but it has already had negative impacts.
Centura Globe’s report on visa changes is a detailed look at the financial impact of these recent changes. This is a report I recommend reading.
The report also discusses how the government could do both. It’s clear that the government wants a significant reduction in the number of visas granted, but isn’t protecting the mutually beneficial types. The report goes on to explain how it is possible using the 8 main business types. The ‘growth visa,’ which is specific for certain skill types and economic growth.
It is impossible to predict if we will see this in the near term, but with the changes that are coming over the next few months, it is reasonable to expect some positive developments in the employment sector in these industries.
Final Thoughts
In several sectors that are key to our economic growth, the overall employment growth and growth of economics is suffering. Speak to the right people if you want to contribute to the UK’s economic growth and development as a highly-skilled worker. Also, make sure your visa application is approved. Immigration lawyers in London will guide you and help you to get through the process.
The original version of this article, UK fails to attract international talent in key sectors, appeared first on Human Resources News.
