Why do people come to the UK? To work
Updated 26 August 2021
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Data relate to the year ending June 2021 and all comparisons are with the year ending June 2020, 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 for foreign nationals applying in new work routes on:
- Work-related visas, including Skilled work visas
- Sponsored work visa applications from different economic sectors
1. Immigration for work
There were 172,045 work-related visas granted in the year ending June 2021 (including dependants). This was a 19% increase on the year ending June 2020, but 7% fewer than in the preceding year ending June 2019.
Skilled work, which accounts for 60% of work-related visas granted, saw the largest increase in visa numbers, up 16,775 or 19%. High value, Skilled worker, Temporary worker and Other work visas and exemptions routes all increased compared to the previous year. These increases will in part reflect recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and figures are still below those in the year ending June 2019.
The new Skilled worker routes introduced in late 2020 (Skilled work, Skilled worker Health and Care, and Intra-company transfer) accounted for 55,053 or 32% of the total work-related visas granted.
Table 1: Work-related visas granted, by visa type
| Visa type | Year ending June 2020 | Year ending June 2021 | Change | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled worker | 87,044 | 103,819 | +16,775 | +19% |
| Temporary worker | 33,672 | 38,180 | +4,508 | +13% |
| Other work visas and exemptions1 | 20,139 | 25,070 | +4,931 | +24% |
| High value | 4,083 | 4,976 | +893 | +22% |
| Total | 144,938 | 172,045 | 27,107 | +19% |
Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02
Notes:
1.The ‘Other work visas and exemptions’ category includes new routes other than Skilled work 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.
A sharp rise in all visa types is seen in the year ending June 2021. Figure 1 shows the trend for each visa type and the 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.
Figure 1: Work-related visas granted by visa type, years ending June 2012 to June 2021
Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02.
1.1 Overview
Figure 2 shows how the numbers of work visas have changed over the last 30 months, 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. June 2021 grants were also higher than the previous two years, suggesting a sustained return to pre-pandemic levels in the latest data.
Figure 2: Number of work-related visas granted, by month, 2019, 2020 and 2021
Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02 and underlaying datasets.
According to Labour Force Survey estimates from April to June 2021 (the latest data with nationality region breakdowns) published in the ONS Labour market overview, UK: August 2021 release, there were approximately 1.5 million non-EU nationals working in the UK, 61,000 (4.3%) higher than a year earlier.
The number of non-UK nationals working in the UK has stayed broadly consistent from the previous year at around 3.7 million. There were an estimated 28.5 million UK nationals working in the UK, 296,000 (-1%) fewer than a year earlier.
1.1 High Value
High value visa grants increased by 893 (+22%) in the year ending June 2021. This is 15% fewer than in the year ending June 2019, due to steady falls in Entrepreneur visas. Innovator visa grants have increased while Entrepreneur visas have fallen, continuing the trend following 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. However, the combined grants of both these visas have still fallen by 40% in the last year.
The Global talent visa, introduced on 20 February 2020, accounted for 2,163 grants in the year ending June 2021, 43% of all High Value visa grants.
The top nationality granted High Value work visas are India nationals, accounting for 16% of the total. The is followed by the USA and China, each accounting for 11% of the total grants.
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, and Intra-company visas, which replaced the Tier 2 General and Tier 2 Intra-company transfer routes in December 2020.
In the year ending June 2021, there was a 19% increase in Skilled work visas granted (to 103,819). Skilled work visas have almost returned to the total seen in the year ending June 2019, with the year ending June 2021 being just 4% lower.
The majority of the increase was due to the new Skilled worker and Skilled worker Health & Care visas. These saw 45,722 grants, accounting for 44% of the total Skilled work visas granted. A large decrease was seen for total Intra-company transfers, showing 15,603 less grants combined across all Intra-company transfer visas. This continues the decline seen since the end of 2016 for this visa route.
Indian nationals account for two fifths (40%) of all Skilled work visas granted. There was a large increase in skilled work visa grants to Nigerian nationals, which more than doubled to 7,543 in the year ending June 2021.
Table 2: Top 5 nationalities1 granted Skilled work visas
| Nationality | Year ending June 2020 | Year ending June 2021 | Change | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 42,196 | 41,844 | -352 | -1% |
| Philippines | 5,565 | 8,207 | +2,642 | +47% |
| Nigeria | 3,550 | 7,543 | +3,993 | +112% |
| United States | 6,235 | 6,150 | -85 | -1% |
| Pakistan | 2,204 | 3,437 | +1,233 | +56% |
| Other nationalities2 | 27,294 | 36,638 | +9,344 | +34% |
| Total | 87,044 | 103,819 | +16,775 | +19% |
Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02
Notes:
- Top 5 nationalities in the most recent year.
- ‘Other nationalities’ includes those that do not feature in the top 5 in the latest year.
1.3 Temporary Work
Grants of Temporary worker visas increased by 4,508 (up 13%) to 38,180 but this number is still 11% lower than the year ending June 2019.
‘Seasonal Workers’ made up over half (52%) of all Temporary Work grants, and saw a large increase, up from 4,146 in the previous year to 19,761. 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. The establishment of the route longer term, combined with lower levels in the previous year due to the pandemic are likely the reason for the large increase. More information can be found on the Seasonal Workers Pilot information page.
Of those granted a Seasonal Worker visa in the year ending June 2021, 74% were Ukrainian nationals, down from 94% in the previous year. Eastern European nationalities make up most grants in this route, with the next highest grants being to Russian (1,305, 7%), Belarusian (873, 4%) and Moldovan (835, 4%) nationals.
The ‘Youth mobility’ route is second largest temporary work route, accounting for 21% (7,909) of the total. The number of Youth mobility visas in the year ending June 2021, was 46% lower than the previous year, most likely reflecting the impact of the pandemic on international travel. The countries with the highest proportions were Canada (23%), Australia (22%) and Japan (18% of the total).
1.4 Other work visas and exemptions
Other work visas and exemptions increased to 25,070 (up 4,931 or +24%) in the year ending June 2021.
Domestic workers in private householders were the only visa type to see a fall, almost halving (49%). This group is likely have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 6,733 grants under the new Frontier Worker permit, accounting for 27% of other work grants in the year ending June 2021.
The number of grants on the European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) businessperson route saw an increase of 61% to 5,989 grants, and the number of applications was more than six times the number in the previous year. This surge in applications, and resulting grants, is likely due to people seeking to apply before the route closed to new applicants at the end of 2020.
1.5 Sponsorship
In the year ending June 2021, there were a total of 72,553 applications for Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for work. This figure understates the total due to data issues from Q1 2020 (see section 2.4 for details). A complete breakdown of the visas, extensions and unknown cases can be found in the detailed sponsorship tables [COS detailed dataset] (URL). Almost half 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 (46%)
- Information and Communications (14%)
- Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities (11%)
- Financial and Insurance Activities (8%)
- Education (6%)
The proportion of Human Health and Social work has increased by more than double since YE June 2019, rising from 21% to the 46%. This is likely due to a combination of the removal of doctors and nurses from the Tier 2 Visa Cap in 2018 and the further demand for healthcare professionals resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
1.6 The new immigration system (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 first half of 2021 there were 12,168 work-related visas granted to EEA nationals newly seeking to come to the UK. The majority of these were in the ‘Other work visas and exemptions’ and ‘Skilled worker’ categories, comprising 48% and 34% of the total work grants to EEA nationals, respectively.
The top EEA nationalities granted work visas and permits in the first half of 2021 were French (1,469 grants or 12%) and Polish nationals (1,409, 12%). German nationals were the next highest with 1,175 grants (10% of the total).
The work route with the largest number of EEA grants was the Frontier Worker permit, with 5,828 grants. Polish nationals had the highest number of grants on this route, at 1,155 grants. This was followed by Romania at 624 grants and the Netherlands at 565 grants.
The second largest EEA work route was the Skilled Worker visa, with 3,031 grants. French nationals were the EEA nationality with the highest number of grants on this route, with 739 grants, followed by Italy (478) and Spain (329).
Frontier Worker permits and Skilled Worker visas together made up 73% of all EEA worker grants.
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 European Union (EU) freedom of movement principles, the majority of UK immigration rules related to non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals. From 2021, unless otherwise stated, data in this release will include 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.
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.
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 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 from outside the EEA 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 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 replace 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 Q1 2020 onwards are unable to be separately identified as either a visa or extension case, and so have been categorised as ‘unknown’. These are a very small number of cases from Q1 2021.
Applicants for visas (and extensions) for Tier 2 (Skilled) work and for Tier 5 (Youth mobility and temporary worker) 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.
Tier 2 (General) is currently subject to a cap on the number of CoSs that can be allocated to employers for newly-hired employees earning less than £159,600 per year, or for dependants of Tier 4 Students who wish to switch into the Tier 2 ‘General’ category. The sponsor must apply for an allocation for these ‘restricted’ CoSs on a case-by-case basis to be considered at a monthly allocation meeting held by the Home Office. Details of the outcome of the monthly allocation process are published by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). On 15 June 2018, the government announced that doctors and nurses are to be excluded from the cap on Skilled worker visas.
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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