National statistics

Why do people come to the UK? To work

Updated 22 August 2019

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Data relate to the year ending June 2019 and all comparisons are with the year ending June 2018, unless indicated otherwise.

This section contains data for non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals on:

  • Work-related visas (including Skilled (Tier 2) work visas)
  • Sponsored work visa applications from different economic sectors

1. Immigration for work

There were 185,465 work-related visas granted in the year ending June 2019, 11% higher than the previous year, and the highest level since the year ending March 2008, around the period when a new Immigration system (also known as ‘the points-based system’ (PBS)) was introduced. The majority (69%) of the increase in the latest year can be accounted for by Skilled (Tier 2) work visas, which increased by 13% to 108,890. The Skilled (Tier 2) category accounts for 59% of work-related visas granted.

There was also an increase in the number of Youth mobility and temporary worker (Tier 5) visas granted, up 7% to 43,122, and an increase in High-value (Tier 1) visas granted (up 36% to 7,492).

Visa type Year ending June 2018 Year ending June 2019 Change Percentage change
Skilled (Tier 2)1 96,320 108,890 +12,570 +13%
Youth mobility and temporary workers (Tier 5)1 40,307 43,122 +2,815 +7%
Non-PBS / Other2 25,002 25,961 +959 +4%
High value (Tier 1)1 5,492 7,492 +2,000 +36%
Total 167,121 185,465 +18,344 +11%

Source:

Entry clearance visas table vi 01 q (volume 1)

Table notes:

  1. Figures include pre-PBS equivalents.
  2. The ‘Non-PBS / Other’ category includes routes such as domestic workers in private households, and UK Ancestry visas.

The number of work-related visas granted fell from 2011 as a result of falls in numbers of applicants under the Tier 1 ‘General’ and ‘Post-study’ visa routes, following their closure to new entrants at that time. Research operational evidence suggested that these routes were not working as intended. Since then, the increases in work-related visas can be predominantly attributed to increases in the Tier 2 (Skilled) work category.

The chart shows the number of work-related Entry clearance visas granted by type of visa over the last 10 years.

Source:

Entry clearance visas table vi 01 q (volume 1)

Chart notes:

  1. ‘Tier 1 (closed routes)’ includes the ‘Tier 1 – General’, ‘Tier 1 – Post study’, ‘Tier 1 – Entrepreneur’, and ‘Tier 1 – Graduate Entrepreneur’ categories. The General and Post study categories were closed to new entrants following operational evidence that these routes were not working as intended. These routes are not included in the ‘Tier 1 (High value)’ category in the chart.
  2. Includes pre-PBS equivalents.
  3. Non-PBS visas are not included on the chart.

According to estimates from the Labour Force Survey, published in the ONS UK labour market: August 2019 release, the number of people employed in the UK increased by 425,000 (to 32.81m) in April to June 2019 compared with a year earlier. This was driven by increases in non-EU and UK nationals. The number of non-EU nationals in employment increased by 74,000 (to 1.29m), while the number of EU nationals in employment increased by 99,000 (to 2.36m).

1.1 Skilled (Tier 2) Work

There was an increase in Tier 2 work visas granted in the year ending June 2019, up 13% to 108,890 following a relatively stable period between 2015 and 2018. This recent increase has been driven by a 54% increase in the ‘Tier 2 – General’ category (to 30,899) and a 38% increase in the ‘Tier 2 – Dependant’ category (to 21,943). Grants in the ‘Tier 2 – General’ have been rising steadily since July 2018 when doctors and nurses were removed from the Tier 2 visa cap.

Indian nationals (who account for 52% of all Tier 2 visas granted) saw the largest increase in grants, up 2,512 (or 5%) compared to the previous year. There were also notable increases for nationals of Nigeria (up 1,407 or 84%), the Philippines (up 1,386 or 42%), Pakistan (up 983 or 58%) and Egypt (up 807 or 61%).

Table 2: Top 5 nationalities1 granted Skilled (Tier 2) Work visas

Nationality Year ending June 2018 Year ending June 2019 Change Percentage change
India 53,810 56,322 +2,512 +5%
United States 9,644 9,693 +49 +1%
Philippines 3,339 4,725 +1,386 +42%
Australia 2,908 3,312 +404 +14%
Japan 3,397 3,219 -178 -5%
All other nationalities 23,222 31,619 +8,397 +36%
Total 96,320 108,890 +12,570 +13%

Source:

Entry clearance visas table vi 06 q w (volume 2)

Table notes:

  1. Top 5 nationalities in the most recent year

In the year ending June 2019, there were 62,463 certificates of sponsorship applications for Skilled (Tier 2) work, an increase of 7,817 (14%). This included a 75% increase in applications in the Human health and social work activities sector, up 5,712 to 13,345, which is likely related to the removal of doctors and nurses from the Tier 2 cap.

Five sectors accounted for the majority (87%) of Tier 2 work visa applications:

  • Information and communication (35%)
  • Human health and social work activities (21%)
  • Professional, scientific and technical activities (16%)
  • Financial and insurance activities (11%)
  • Education (6%)

In the year ending June 2019, there was a 36% increase in the number of High value (Tier 1) visas granted to 7,492. This was partly accounted for by a 29% increase for ‘Entrepreneurs’ (up 775 to 3,450), although this category has now been closed to new applicants from 28 March 2019. More information on the closure of this category can be found in the ‘about these statistics’ section below. Visa grants in the ‘Other permit free employment – High Value’ category more than doubled to 1,619 and has been mainly comprised of Turkish businessperson visas in recent years, with Turkish nationals accounting for 43% of the overall increase in Tier 1 grants in the latest year.

The number of Tier 1 visas is below levels seen around 2010 and 2011, however this is a result of the closure of the Tier 1 ‘General’ route in December 2010, which changed the route from an open points-based route to one focused on high-value migrants.

The number of Youth mobility and temporary worker (Tier 5) visas granted increased by 7% to 43,122 in the year ending June 2019. The ‘Youth mobility’ route accounts for almost half (48%) the Tier 5 visas granted, and this number has been broadly stable since 2009.

The increase in the latest year was mainly driven by the temporary ‘Seasonal workers’ route, which is a new category for those on the seasonal worker pilot scheme, which opened in March 2019. Ukrainian nationals account for 90% of those on the seasonal worker pilot which has led to the number of Tier 5 grants to Ukrainian nationals being more than six times what is was last year, increasing from 355 to 2,161.

There was also an 11% increase in grants in the ‘Creative and sporting’ route (up 753 to 7,783).

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. This includes both highly-skilled non-EEA workers, investors and entrepreneurs, temporary workers, and those employed in sports, the arts and other sectors.

Entry clearance visas allow an individual to enter and stay in the UK within the period for which the visa is valid. EEA nationals do not require a visa to enter the UK.

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. Such fluctuations can be examined in more detail in the quarterly data that are 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.

The Tier 1 innovator and start-up routes were open to new applicants in March 2019. These replaced the Tier 1 entrepreneur and graduate entrepreneur routes.

2.2 Tier 2 (Skilled)

Tier 2 of the PBS is the primary route for economic migration to the UK. Broadly, the route is 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 are four routes within Tier 2 – General, Intra-company transfer, Minister of religion and Sportsperson.

2.3 Tier 5 (Youth mobility and temporary workers)

Tier 5, which is for youth mobility and temporary workers, providing a route for those coming to the UK for primarily non-economic reasons, was implemented in November 2008.

The Tier 5 seasonal workers route was open to new applicants from January 2019.

3.3 Certificates of sponsorship (CoS)

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 CoS 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’ CoS 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.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes long-term international migration (LTIM) estimates in its ‘Migration Statistics Quarterly Report’. The report includes estimates from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) on the number of people coming to the UK with the intention of staying for 12 months or more for work, study, family and other reasons. Estimates are available for EU, non-EU, and British nationals. IPS data are not directly comparable with Home Office visa data for several reasons. See the ONS article ‘Comparing sources of international migration statistics’ for details.

3. Data tables

Data on immigration for work can be found in the following tables:

We welcome your feedback

If you have any comments or suggestions for the development of this report, please provide feedback by emailing MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please include the words ‘PUBLICATION FEEDBACK’ in the subject of your email.

See section 7 of the ‘About this release’ section for more details.

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