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Why do people come to the UK? To work

Published 26 May 2022

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Data relate to the year ending March 2022 and most comparisons are with the year ending March 2020 (two years previous, reflecting a comparison with the period prior to the Covid-pandemic). All data include dependents, unless indicated otherwise.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic. A range of restrictions were implemented in many parts of the world, and the first UK lockdown measures were announced on 23 March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the UK immigration system, both in terms of restricting migrant movements to and from the UK and the impact on operational capacity.

Year ending comparisons that follow will include impacts resulting from the restrictions put in place during this period of the pandemic.

This section contains data on:

• Work-related visas, including Skilled work visas
• Sponsored work visa applications from different economic sectors

1. Immigration for work

There were 277,069 work-related visas granted in the year ending March 2022 (including dependants). This was a 129% increase on the year ending March 2021 and is 50% higher than in the year ending March 2020.

Skilled work, which accounted for two thirds (66%) of work-related visas granted, saw the largest increase in visa numbers from the year ending March 2020, up 72,208 or 66%. High value, Skilled work, Temporary work and Other work visas and exemption routes, all increased compared to the previous year. These increases will in part reflect a recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, however Skilled work and Temporary work visas are also now substantially higher compared with the year ending March 2020.

Table 1: Work-related visas granted, by visa type

Visa type	Year ending March 2020	Year ending March 2021	Year ending March 2022	Percentage change 2020/2022	Percentage change 2021/2022
Skilled worker	109,945	76,109	182,153	+66%	+139%
Temporary worker	40,270	24,153	60,280	+50%	+150%
Other work visas and exemptions1	29,143	17,107	28,171	-3%	+65%
High value	5,250	3,671	6,465	+23%	+76%
Total	184,608	112,040	277,069	+50%	+129%

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02

Notes:

1. The ‘Other work visas and exemptions’ category includes Frontier Worker permits and older routes such as European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) businessperson, domestic workers in private households, UK Ancestry visas and pre-PBS routes that are now closed.

Figure 1: Work-related visas granted by visa type, year ending by quarter, March 2013 to March 2022

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02

Figure 1 shows the trend for each work visa type for years ending between March 2013 and March 2022. There was a fall in the number of grants for each of the main work-related visa types in the first two quarters of 2020, following the onset of the global pandemic. A sharp rise in all visa types is seen across 2021 and continues into 2022, with Skilled work visas and Temporary work visas continuing to show a particularly strong recovery in the latest quarter. Some of these increases may reflect a bounce back from the lower levels during the pandemic.

Figure 2: Number of total work-related visas granted, by month, 2020, 2021 and 2022

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02 and underlaying datasets

Figure 2 shows how the number of work visas have changed over each month in the last three years, including over the course of the global pandemic. There were almost no work visas granted in April and May 2020, immediately following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the following months, grants started to recover but remained lower than the previous year until March 2021, where the number of work visas granted was higher than both March 2020 and March 2019. Since June 2021, grants have been consistently higher than in the previous two years with no drop off in the final quarter, suggesting a sustained recovery since the pandemic began.

According to the Labour Force Survey statistics from January to March 2022 (the latest data with nationality region breakdowns) published in the ONS Labour market overview, UK: May 2022 release, there were an estimated 1.66 million non-EU nationals working in the UK, 115,000 higher (+7%) than a year earlier and 182,000 higher (+12%) than two years earlier. In contrast, there was an estimated 2.20 million EU nationals working in the UK, 25,000 higher (+1%) than a year earlier but 211,000 fewer (-9%) than two years earlier.

The number of non-UK nationals working in the UK is estimated to be around 3.86 million, 140,000 higher (+4%) than last year and 29,000 lower (-1%) than two years prior. There were around 28.7 million UK nationals working in the UK, 225,000 more (+1%) than a year earlier and 426,000 less (-1%) than two years earlier.

1.1 High Value

Grants of High value visas increased by 23% (+1,215) between the year ending March 2020 and the year ending March 2022.

The Global talent visa, introduced on 20 February 2020, accounted for 3,547 grants in the High Value visa category, over half (55%) of all High Value visa grants, and have more than doubled (+137% or +2,048) compared with the preceding year.

There were 792 grants for the Innovator visa, rising from 139, while Entrepreneur visa grants have fallen by 2,407 to 350 grants. This continues the trend which followed a change in policy reflecting advice from the Migration Advisory Committee on the Tier 1 (Investor) route Investment thresholds and economic benefits. The Innovator visa was introduced in April 2019, to replace the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa. The combined grants from both visas have fallen by 61% compared with the year ending March 2020.

There have been 820 grants for the Investor visa, 13% higher than the 726 in the year ending March 2020. There were 221 grants to Chinese nationals, 86 grants to Russian nationals and 85 grants to nationals of the United States. The route was closed to new applications in February 2022, both for reasons of security and because it did not offer the best means of ensuring the visa system delivers impactful investment activity in the UK.

1.2 Skilled Work

‘Skilled work’ includes Tier 2 routes from the Old Points Based system and the new Skilled worker, Skilled worker Health & Care, Intra-company transfer, and International Sportsperson routes.

In the year ending March 2022, Skilled work visa grants increased by 66% (+72,208) to 182,153, compared with the year ending March 2020.

There were 73,400 grants of Skilled worker visas and 75,963 grants of Skilled worker Health & Care visas.

Intra-company transfer (ICTs) grants increased by 17,009 (+125%) to 30,617 compared with the year ending March 2021, however ICTs are still 35% lower compared with the year ending March 2020. This continues the decline since 2016 for the ICT visa route.

Indian nationals continue to be the top nationality in the Skilled work category, accounting for over two fifths (44%) of visas granted. They also saw the greatest increase in skilled work visa grants compared to the year ending March 2020, increasing by 25,209 (+46%). In contrast, grants to nationals of the United States reduced, compared to the year ending March 2020, falling by 1,152 (-14%). There has been a particularly large proportional increase in visa grants to both Nigerian nationals (+214%, +8,771) and Zimbabwean nationals (+424%, +4,490) since the year ending March 2020.

Table 2: Top 5 nationalities¹ granted Skilled work visas

Nationality	Year ending March 2020	Year ending March 2021	Year ending March 2022	Percentage change 2020/2022	Percentage change 2021/2022
India	55,212	31,471	80,421	+46%	+156%
Nigeria	4,091	5,546	12,862	+214%	+132%
Philippines	6,646	6,212	10,782	+62%	+74%
United States	8,512	4,434	7,360	-14%	+66%
Zimbabwe	1,059	1,735	5,549	+424%	+220%
Other nationalities2	34,425	26,711	65,179	+89%	+144%
Total	109,945	76,109	182,153	+66%	+139%

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02

Notes:

1. Top 5 nationalities in the most recent year.
2. ‘Other nationalities’ includes those that do not feature in the top 5 in the latest year.

The top 3 nationals for the Skilled worker visa are Indian nationals accounting for 36% (26,402), United States nationals with 7% (5,285) and French nationals with 4% (3,197). Similarly, for the Skilled worker Health & Care visa, Indian nationals were the largest number, accounting for 43% (32,746) of the total. Nigerian nationals were the next highest with 15% (11,102) followed by Filipino nationals with 13% (9,510).

In October 2021, the International Sportsperson visa launched, and since there has been 959 grants. This new visa combines the previous Tier 2 (Sportsperson) visa and sporting element of the Tier 5 (Creative & Sporting) visa.

1.3 Temporary Work

Grants of Temporary work visas have increased by 20,010 (+50%) to 60,280 compared with the year ending March 2020.

1.3.1 Seasonal Worker visas

Whilst all Temporary work routes have increased in the past year, ‘Seasonal Workers’ have seen the greatest rise, increasing by 21,349 (+200%) compared with the year ending March 2021 and currently make up over half (53%) of all Temporary work grants. This route came into effect in Q1 2019, and the growth in this route reflect the quota increases for the Seasonal Worker visa, which increased from 2,500 in 2019 to a current quota of 30,000 visas for 2022. More information can be found on the Seasonal Workers Pilot information page and in the guidance for sponsors. In contrast, all other routes have seen an overall decrease of 24% (-9,156) since the year ending March 2020.

The highest number of grants on the Seasonal worker route are to Ukrainian nationals, which represented 61% (19,614) of all Seasonal worker grants in the year to March 2022. The next highest grants were to Russian (2,501, 8%) and Tajikistani (1,894, 6%) nationals.

Statistics on the temporary visa scheme to recruit additional poultry workers, pork butchers and HGV food drivers, which was open to applications between October and December 2021, was included in the ‘Immigration Statistics, October to December 2021’ release, in the chapter ‘Why do people come to the UK? To work’. Further data for this period can be found in Vis_02 and Vis_03c of the Entry Clearance summary tables from the same release.

1.3.2 Other Temporary work routes

The ‘Youth mobility’ route is the second largest Temporary work route, accounting for 10,392 visas or 17% of the total. However, this number is still 41% fewer than in the year ending March 2020, reflecting that the impact of the pandemic on international travel is still felt in this area. The largest numbers of Youth Mobility visas were issued to nationals of Australia (3,310 or 32% of the total), Canada (2,216, 21%) and Japan (1,441, 14%).

In October 2021, the Creative worker visa was launched which replaces the creative element of the Tier 5 (Creative & Sporting) visa. There have been 2,565 issuances of this visa since the launch with Indian nationals seeing the highest number of grants with 775 (30%) followed by United States (180, 7%) and Nigerian (154, 6%) nationals.

1.4 Other work visas and exemptions

Other grants of work visas and exemptions decreased by 3% (-972) to 28,171 in the year ending March 2022.

The largest sub-category was the Domestic workers in Private household’s visa where there were 10,969 grants, although this has fallen by 46% (-9,525) compared to the year ending March 2020. The next largest group was the Frontier Worker permit which saw 8,597 visas issued.

The number of grants in all sub routes have increased in the last year, except for in the European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) businessperson route, which closed to new applicants at the end of 2020 and saw a decrease of 59% to 2,107 compared with the preceding year.

1.5 Sponsorship

In the year ending March 2022, there were a total of 141,983 applications for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for work visas. This was 30% more (+33,102) than in the year ending March 2019. (Due to data quality issues between Q4 2019 and Q2 2020, see section 2.4 for details, the comparison period is the year ending March 2019.)

Skilled work CoS made up 99,379 (66%) of the total applications. Almost two-fifths of sponsored Skilled worker visa applications were in the health and social care sector, with the five largest sectors comprising:

• Human Health and Social Work Activities (36%)
• Information and Communications (18%)
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities (13%)
• Financial and Insurance Activities (9%)
• Education (5%)

Human Health and Social work CoS applications have almost tripled (+196%) since the year ending March 2019, when they represented just 19% of sponsored skilled work visa applications, and when the largest sector was Information and Communications at 35% of the total. This increase is likely due to a combination of the removal of doctors and nurses from the Tier 2 Visa Cap in mid-2018 and the further demand for healthcare professionals resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

1.6 The new immigration system (for work)

From the 1st of January 2021, changes in the immigration rules mean that EEA and Swiss (excluding Irish) nationals require a visa to work in the UK. In the year ending March 2022, there were 33,292 work-related visas granted to EEA and Swiss nationals seeking to come to the UK, representing 12% of all work-related visas. The majority of these were in Skilled work comprising just over half (51%, 16,973) of the total work grants to EEA and Swiss nationals, respectively.

The top EEA nationalities granted work visas and permits in the year ending March 2022 were French (5,239 grants, 16% of EEA work visas) and German nationals (4,202 13% of EEA work visas). Italian nationals were the third largest EEA nationality with 3,413 grants (10% of EEA work visas).

The work route with the largest number of EEA grants was the Skilled Worker visa, with 13,119 grants, and EEA nationals represented 18% of all grants of Skilled Worker visas. French nationals were the EEA nationality with the highest number of grants on this route with 3,197 grants, followed by Italian (2,081) and Spanish (1,422) nationals.

The second largest EEA work route was the Frontier Worker permit with 8,595 grants. Polish nationals had the highest number of grants on this route, at 1,684 grants. This was followed by Romanian nationals at 1,128 grants and German nationals at 785 grants.

Frontier Worker permits and Skilled Worker visas together made up 65% of all EEA worker grants.

Almost one-fifth (17%) of grants to the Global talent visa were to EEA and Swiss nationals, with 630 grants. The top EEA nationalities in this route were German with 115 grants, followed by Italian (100) and French (82).

There were 33,682 extensions granted in the new Graduate route with Indian, Nigerian, and Chinese nationals accounting for over half (58%) of the grants. The route was introduced on 01 July 2021 and allows students who have successfully completed a bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course to stay in the UK for a period after their studies to work or look for work. A Graduate visa lasts for two years, or three years in the case of completing a PhD or other doctoral qualification.

2. About these statistics

The statistics in this section provide an indication of the number of people who have an intention to enter the UK for work reasons.

Before 2021, due to the application to the UK of European Union (EU) free movement law, the majority of UK immigration control related to non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals. From 2021, unless otherwise stated, data in this release relate to both EEA and non-EEA nationals.

Entry clearance visas allow an individual to enter and stay in the UK within the period for which the visa is valid. From 2021, EEA nationals require a visa to enter the UK to work, unless they hold status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Data in this section refer to the number of Entry clearance visas granted for work reasons within the period. If an individual was granted a visa more than once in a given period, this has been counted as multiple grants in the statistics. If an individual entered the UK multiple times within the period for which a visa was valid, this has been counted as one grant in the visa statistics.

The data do not show whether, or when, an individual arrived in the UK, what they did on arrival to the UK, or how long they stayed in the UK.

Year-on-year comparisons of the number of decisions can be affected by quarterly fluctuations in the data. These fluctuations can be examined in the quarterly data available in the published tables. Year ending comparisons will also include impacts resulting from the travel restrictions put in place during the pandemic.

2.1 Tier 1 (High value)

Tier 1 of the PBS was phased in between February and June 2008 as a general route. However, from 2010, Tier 1 has focused on providing visas for ‘High value’ migrants only, including the exceptional talent route, investors and entrepreneurs.

The Tier 1 Entrepreneur route was closed to most new applicants in March 2019 and replaced by the non-PBS Innovator route.

The Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur route was closed to new applicants in July 2019 and replaced by the non-PBS Start-up route.

The Tier 1 Exceptional Talent route was closed to new applicants in February 2020 and replaced by the non-PBS Global Talent route.

The Tier 1 Investor route was closed to new applicants in February 2022.

The remaining Tier 1 routes were closed at the end of 2020.

2.2 Tier 2 (Skilled)

Tier 2 of the PBS was the primary route for economic migration to the UK. Broadly, the route was for skilled workers who have an offer of employment in the UK in an occupation classed as skilled to NQF6 or above.

Tier 2 was implemented in November 2008. There were four routes within Tier 2: General, Intra-company transfer, Minister of religion and Sportsperson.

Tier 2 was closed at the end of 2020 and was replaced by the Skilled Worker and Intra-Company Transfer routes.

2.3 Tier 5 (Youth mobility and temporary workers)

Tier 5 (Youth mobility and temporary workers) was implemented in November 2008 to provide a route for those coming to the UK for primarily non-economic reasons.

The Tier 5 Seasonal workers route was open to new applicants from January 2019.

The Tier 5 routes were closed at the end of 2020 and replaced by equivalent Youth Mobility and Temporary Worker routes.

2.4 Certificate of sponsorship (CoS)

From Q4 2019, the method for extracting in-country and out-of-country Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) data has changed. Data quality issues identified as part of this change in methodology has meant that some cases from Q4 2019 onwards are unable to be separately identified as either a visa or extension case, and so have been categorised as ‘unknown’.

Applicants for Skilled and Temporary work visas (and extensions) must obtain a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from a registered employer. Any organisation that wishes to sponsor a worker must be registered on the Home Office’s Register of Sponsors.

Further information about the CoS allocation process is given in the user guide and on the UK visa sponsorship for employers section of GOV.UK.

2.5 Other sources

Until 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published long-term international migration (LTIM) estimates in its ‘Migration Statistics Quarterly Report’ (latest data available is for the year ending March 2020). The ONS are currently reviewing their methods for measuring population and migration; see their blog post for more information on the latest developments to ONS population and migration data.

3. Data tables

Data on immigration for work can be found in the following tables:

• Sponsorship summary tables
• Detailed sponsorship datasets
• Entry clearance visas summary tables
• Detailed Entry clearance visas datasets
• Admissions summary tables
• Extensions summary tables
• Detailed Extensions datasets

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