Table of Contents
- 37% Fall in UK Student & Work Visa Applications!
- European Visitors Need an Entry Permit to Visit UK !
- UK Visa Fees to Increase by Up to 28% in April!
- UK Grants 37 Percent Fewer Work Visas in 2024!
- UK Visa Rules Hurt Science and Tech Ambitions
- UK To Start Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme!
- Skilled Worker Visa - Minimum Salary Increase!
- Seasonal Worker Visa puts Migrants at Risk
- 16% Decrease in UK Student Visas in 2024!
- UK Introduces New ETA Travel Visa for Australians
- UK Universities Affected by Student Visa Restrictions
- Immigration Issues Tops British Citizens' Concerns
- UK Labour Government Focuses on Immigration Reforms
- Review of the Politics of UK’s post-Brexit Immigration
- International Students Affected by Visa Changes
- UK Digital Visas to Replace Physical Documents by 2025
- Proposed Visa-Free Travel to the UK for Thais
- Care Workers Can No Longer Bring Family Members to the UK
- The UK's Immigration Health Surcharge Increase Takes Effect
- Salary Threshold for Family members of UK Residents will Not be Increased!
- Top German Politician calls for Closer Ties between the UK and EU
- Carers from Overseas are Subjected to Exploitation
- New Increases in UK Visa Fees, from 04 October
- 66% of UK public 'dissatisfied with government’s approach to immigration'
- UK's Visa options are preventing Foreign Investors
- Increase in UK CAS and Student Visa Intake for Autumn 2023
- Businesses request Government to Re-consider Planned Increase in Skilled Worker Visa Fees
22 April 2025
37% Fall in UK Student & Work Visa Applications!
A decrease in visa applications of students and foreign skilled workers is largely the effect of new UK immigration rules introduced to reduce net migration in the country. The number of migrants applying for UK visas has decreased by more than a third in the last year. According to the most recent British government data, in the fiscal year ending March 2025, 772,200 persons applied for visas in all major categories, a 37% decrease from nearly 1.24 million the previous year. This is largely the effect of new UK immigration rules introduced to reduce net migration in the country. In addition, fewer international students are opting for the UK as a study abroad destination. The recent data shows that applications from Sponsored study visa main applicants in the year ending March 2025 were 417,000, which is 11% lower than the year ending March 2024. Sponsored study visas follow strong seasonal patterns, peaking in August each year, ahead of the academic year, with a second smaller peak in December. The applications from dependants of students also showed a falling trend. There were 20,100 applications from dependants of students in the year ending March 2025, 86% fewer than the year ending December 2023. This followed the rule changes that came into effect in January 2024, which prevent students from bringing dependants, apart from those studying postgraduate research courses or courses with government-funded scholarships.
07 April 2025
European Visitors Need an Entry Permit to Visit UK !
European visitors to Britain must now purchase an electronic entry permit in advance for trips from 2 April 2025. The permit can be purchased online for £10 (12 euros) until April 9, when the price will rise to £16. The UK government follows other countries in seeking to strengthen immigration security by screening people before they cross its borders. Travellers from Europe will now need a digital Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) permit, which UK officials said they were rolling out to boost security and streamline entry processes. There will be a buffer period which could last several months. The permit can be bought online in the next few days for £10 (12 euros), but the price is rising swiftly from April 9 to £16. The ETA has already been introduced for American, Canadian and other visa-exempt nationals visiting the UK, which left the European Union in 2020.
24 March 2025
UK Visa Fees to Increase by Up to 28% in April!
From April 2025, travelling or studying in the United Kingdom will become costlier for Indians. The UK government on March 19, 2025 announced higher visa fees across all categories, including student and visitor visas, as well as electronic travel authorisations. The changes will take effect from April 9, 2025. Indians require a visitor visa to enter the UK. That fee is going up by ten per cent — from $149 to $164. For travellers from visa-exempt countries, the cost of the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) will rise from $12 to $20 — an increase of 60 per cent. The new ETA pricing will come into effect earlier, starting April 2, 2025. An ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) is a pre-arrival requirement for visa-exempt nationals. It's not a visa but works in a similar way, allowing UK authorities to carry out security checks before a traveller arrives. The fee increase for Visitor visas will be: Visit visas: Short-term (up to 6 months):Currently £115; increasing to £127—a rise of £12. Fees for student visas will also increase. The main applicants and their dependants will now have to pay £524 ($677), up from £490 ($633). This also applies to child students.
03 March 2025
UK Grants 37 Percent Fewer Work Visas in 2024!
Britain saw a large drop in the number of visas given to foreign workers in 2024, official data showed, as far fewer health and social care workers were granted entry following curbs imposed by the previous government. British authorities granted 210,098 work visas in the twelve months to the end of December, a 37 percent drop compared to the previous year, according to Home Office (interior ministry) immigration statistics. Visas for health and social care workers decreased by 81 percent to 27,174, continuing a downward trend that began in early 2024 following the previous Conservative government’s restrictions to cut net migration. For years immigration has been one of the key issues facing the country, according to voters and it played a major part in the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Critics say large influxes of migrants stretches already strained public services while others say they are needed to fill vacancies in certain sectors, particularly in healthcare. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, like his predecessors, has vowed to reduce immigration, saying in November that he would produce a plan to reform the points-based immigration system which would put the onus on businesses to train British workers.