Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Accepted
Skilled Worker visa uptake, particularly for care workers, significantly exceeded Home Office forecasts.
Conclusion
The number of people who have used the Skilled Worker visa route is much higher than the Home Office originally expected, driven by large increases in the number of Health and Care Worker visas.26 The Home Office forecast that it would issue 360,000 Skilled Worker visas to people entering the country over the period 2021 to 2024 but issued 931,000 visas over this period.27 The Home Office told us that the Skilled Worker visa route has been used flexibly to successfully target skill shortages and pressures that have arisen across the labour market. It also pointed to analysis which showed the benefits of bringing workers, particularly higher-skilled workers, into the economy.28
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation and refers to its already published evaluation of the Skilled Worker visa route. This evaluation provides insights into visa holder motivations, business benefits, and potential unintended consequences regarding reported salaries.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2025 2.2 The government published its evaluation of the skilled worker visa route alongside the Immigration White Paper on 12 May. Skilled worker evaluation. 2.3 The evaluation of the Skilled Worker route found that visa holders were primarily motivated to come to the UK by career opportunities (87%) and wanting to experience living in the UK (70%), while businesses most cited a shortage of skilled UK candidates (30%) as their motivation to sponsor Skilled Workers. Sponsors reported a range of business benefits from employing Skilled Workers, including creating a more diverse workforce (34%), bringing in new cultural perspectives (26%), and learning new skills from other markets (24%). 2.4 The ability to bring dependants was a key feature in deciding to work in the UK. Of those with dependants (54%), only 10% reported they would still have come to the UK if they had not been able to bring dependants. Most dependant partners were reported to be employed (71%) – the majority were employed full-time (54%). Self-reported English language ability for Skilled Workers and dependants were high. Before coming to the UK, 69% of main applicants could speak English “very well” (53% for dependant partners). This increased to 82% at the time of the survey (66% for dependant partners). 2.5 A potential unintended consequence of higher than expected use of the route is that, while most reported salaries exceeded current thresholds, some survey responses indicate that some individuals may not be compensated at thresholds which sponsors are required to meet. 39% of Skilled Workers reported earning up to £35,000 per annum, while 22% of Health and Care visa holders earned up to £22,500 per annum, though it is not possible from the survey to determine whether this is due to individual migrant circumstances (e.g., new entrant discounts). The survey sample also spans salary policy changes, meaning not all respondents were subject to the same minimum income requirements. Variations in individual salary rules and discounts may also account for reported salaries below standard route minimums, and methodological limitations could also have skewed salary estimates.