Alongside the settlement reforms, the Home Office released its monthly entry-clearance statistics for October 2026. Work-related demand remained buoyant: 17,240 Skilled Worker visas were decided, up 6 % on September and 22 % year-on-year despite the sharp increase in Immigration Skills Charge last December. Health and Care still dominates, accounting for 38 % of Skilled Worker grants, but technology occupations recorded the fastest growth at 14 % month-on-month, reflecting the post-Budget push for ‘pro-business migration’. Student visa decisions dipped to 10,560 as the peak autumn intake subsided, while family-route applications held steady at 5,140. Rejection rates across all work categories crept up from 4.1 % to 4.5 %, a trend government analysts attribute to tougher documentary checks following several high-profile compliance raids. The data confirm anecdotal reports from recruiters that demand for sponsored hiring has not cooled despite higher wage thresholds introduced in April. Large sponsors continue to absorb rising compliance costs, betting on chronic domestic talent shortages in engineering, cyber-security and life sciences. However, small employers appear to be pulling back: Tier 2 applications from companies with fewer than 50 staff fell 8 % in October. HR and mobility managers should dissect the granular tables—particularly the country-of-origin split—to anticipate Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) allocations for the new quota year opening in January. Frequent monthly updates, introduced this summer, give sponsors near-real-time insight into processing backlogs and allow them to time priority applications before holiday surges. With visa processing times holding at three weeks for overseas filings, the UK remains one of the faster G20 jurisdictions for work permits—an advantage the Government is keen to publicise as it courts post-Brexit investment.
Source: UK Government – GOV.UK
