Huge drop in skilled worker visas as Britain spends £4.36bn on asylum seeker costs

The number of UK visas issued to foreign workers has continued to plummet, new Home Office figures show.

There were 235,000 work visas granted, including for employee dependants, in the year ending June 2026 - an 18% drop on the previous 12 months and 62% fewer than in 2023.

The fall is predominantly down to the significant decrease in health and care worker and skilled worker visas being issued, which have reduced by 90% and 48%, respectively since December 2023.

Home Office spending on asylum seekers in Britain was also down 8% on 2024/25, but still stands at £4.36 billion a year.

The drop from £4.76 billion is the second annual fall in a row, the Government figures show.

It covers all Home Office costs related to asylum, including direct cash support and accommodation, wider staffing and other migration and borders activity, but not the interception of small boats crossing the Channel.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood PA Asylum spending had hit a record £5.38 billion high in 2023/24.

The number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in hotels stood at 16,021 at the end of June 2026, down 50% year-on-year from 32,041.

It is the lowest figure since data was first reported in 2022, the Home Office figures show.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said it showed that Labour was “restoring control”.

But the Tories said the Government was simply “moving illegal immigrants out of hotels and into flats”.

A total of 85,891 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2026, down 21% from 108,585 in the previous year.

It is the lowest 12-month total since the year to June 2022, when applications stood at 75,668.

Migrants who arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats accounted for 40% (33,949) of the number of people claiming asylum in the 12 months to June 2026.