There was a sharp fall in the number of foreign workers issued UK visas last year but asylum applications rocketed, new Home Office figures have revealed. A total of 108,138 people applied for asylum in Britain in 2024, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Meanwhile the number of work visas issued tumbled, particularly for those coming for jobs in the NHS and social care, as the Government sought to reduce record levels of legal immigration. Some 27,000 health and care worker visas were granted in 2024. This was 81% fewer than the peak reached in 2023, according to Government data published on Thursday.
The figures also revealed that 393,000 sponsored study visas were granted to international students in 2024 - a fall of 14% from 2023 but 46% higher than 2019. Asylum seeker application were up 18% from 91,811 in 2023. The previous record was 103,081 in the 12 months to December 2002.
Migrants who arrived in the UK after making the perilous journey across the English Channel in small boats accounted for 32% of the total number of people claiming asylum last year. Pakistani was the most common nationality among asylum applicants, accounting for 10,542 people almost 10% of the total. This is up from 5,904 in 2023.
Afghan was the second most common nationality with 8,508 people, down from 9,710 the previous year. Along with Pakistan, the largest increase in asylum claims last year came from Vietnamese nationals, which stood at 5,259 (4.9% of the total), up from 2,469 (2.7%).
There were 124,802 people waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of December 2024. This was down 6% from 133,409 at the end of September 2024. Some 38,079 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of December, up 2,428 from 35,651 at the end of September.
It is the second quarterly rise in a row, although the figure is still below the recent peak of 56,042 at the end of September 2023. Asylum seekers and their families are housed in temporary accommodation if they are waiting for the outcome of a claim or an appeal and have been assessed as not being able to support themselves independently.
