Background to the report

The Skilled Worker visa route is the main immigration route for people to apply to work in the UK. The government opened the route in December 2020 following the UK’s exit from the European Union, which ended European free movement rights. Its aims were to deliver a fair and flexible visa system which enables the UK to attract the skills it needs and support wider plans for economic growth. The government can flex entry requirements to respond to changes in government policy and economic needs. 

Jump to downloads

The Home Office is responsible for immigration policy, including controlling immigration, and considering applications to enter the UK. Its UK Visas and Immigration Directorate is responsible for managing the Skilled Worker visa system, making decisions on applications and ensuring people and employers remain compliant with visa requirements. Responsibility for designing immigration rules and addressing non-compliance is spread across the department. 

Scope of the report 

This report examines how the Home Office manages the Skilled Worker visa route. We assessed whether the Home Office:

  • has as an effective approach to adjusting the entry requirements to respond to changes in government policy and economic needs
  • is effectively monitoring and managing the performance of the system

Conclusions 

The Skilled Worker visa route is a flexible mechanism which allows the government to adjust entry requirements to balance immigration policy with the need to address skill shortages in the UK. While the route continues to support many employers in recruiting overseas workers, the Home Office has made changes without a detailed understanding of potential impacts across different sectors and regions. Further, the Home Office and departments have not collaborated effectively on the role that immigration plays across different sectors of the labour market.

In terms of managing the visa system, the Home Office has processed large volumes of applications effectively and has strengthened its approach to tackling non-compliance risks. But it could make better use of data to understand the implications of changes to the route and manage the consequences, both to improve customer experience and prevent visa applicants from being exploited. Without this understanding, the Home Office cannot be confident it is achieving value for money from its management of the Skilled Worker visa route. 

Downloads

Publication details

Press release

View press release (17 Mar 2025)

Related work