Britain slashes work visas by 37% in 2024, but asylum claims surge past 100,000

Britain issued significantly fewer visas to foreign workers in 2024 following stricter immigration policies for health and social care workers, but asylum claims surged to a record level, according to official data released Thursday.

Home Office figures show that 210,098 work visas were granted in the year ending December, marking a 37% drop from 2023. The biggest decline was in health and social care visas, which plummeted by 81% to just 27,174 after new restrictions imposed by the previous Conservative government took effect early last year.

Meanwhile, asylum applications rose to 108,138, an 18% year-on-year increase, surpassing the previous record set in 2002. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran were the most common nationalities among applicants. Small boat arrivals also climbed 25% to 37,000. However, the number of people granted refugee status or other leave at the initial decision stage dropped by 37% to 39,616.

Immigration remains a deeply divisive issue in Britain, having played a key role in the 2016 Brexit vote. Critics argue that high migration levels strain public services and worsen housing shortages, while others say foreign workers are essential to fill labour gaps, particularly in healthcare.

With rising support for the right-wing Reform UK party, which advocates tougher immigration policies, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to overhaul the points-based system after revised data showed net migration hit a record 900,000 in the year to June 2023.

Starmer’s Labour government, elected in July, has been working to clear a backlog in asylum cases. While the number of pending cases fell 5% from the end of 2023, 125,000 people were still awaiting an initial decision.

"Under the previous government, in the last few months before the election, asylum decision-making collapsed by more than 70%, pushing the backlog right up," Border Security and Asylum Minister Angela Eagle said in a statement.

(With Reuters inputs)