According to a recent analysis of official data by the Financial Times, chefs have overtaken tech workers as the most common occupation among immigrants coming to the UK on skilled worker visas by March 2024. Chefs from India account for 25% of those visas. This comes at a time when visas issued by the UK to tech workers saw a drop of more than 50%.

This trend emerges British government aims to tighten immigration levelsIn the UK, chefs are eligible for a skilled worker visa, but cooks are not.

The rise in skilled worker visas for chefs has been driven mainly by migrants from South Asia, with Indians making up 25% of visas received in the first three months of this year, Bangladeshis 22% and Pakistanis 21%, the Financial Times reports.

According to data published by the Home Office, 6,203 chefs were granted skilled worker visas in the year to March 2024, representing a 54% increase on the previous year.

In contrast, the number of visas issued to programmers and software developers fell by more than half, from 8,752 to 4,280.

There are more work visas than study visas offered by the UK

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has predicted that immigration levels will be at a record high in 2023.

According to Statista, around 1.22 million people will migrate to the United Kingdom in 2023, while 532,000 will move out of the country, resulting in a net migration figure of 685,000.

According to the Financial Times, work has now overtaken study as the primary reason for migration.

The increase in work visas is mainly due to an increase in permits granted to care workers and their families.

Meanwhile, employers are sponsoring fewer hires in high-wage sectors that once dominated skilled worker visa allocations.

Overall, the Home Office issued 67,703 skilled worker visas in the year to March 2024, down 2% on the previous year.

The decline in hiring in the technology sector has affected not only programmers but also IT business analysts and management consultants.

This is happening despite many employers speeding up visa applications to avoid imminent fee hikes and salary requirement increases.

UK challenges minimum income requirement for visa

As per the salary cap announced by the UK Government, applicants must have a minimum annual salary of £29,000 (approximately Rs. 30,95,590 as per current exchange rate) to be eligible. This represents a significant increase of 55 per cent from the previous limit of £18,600 (approximately Rs 19,85,601).

Chefs, whose average annual wage was £22,877 in April 2023 according to the ONS, are among those who will be left out of the system, the Financial Times reports.

The change is part of the government’s broader effort to reduce legal migration and prevent newcomers from becoming a burden on taxpayers.

Home Secretary James Cleverly stressed the need to take tough decisions to manage migration levels.

,We have reached a tipping point of mass migration“There is no simple solution or easy decision that will get the numbers down to a level acceptable to the British people,” Mr Cleverly said.

The worker shortage has also led to a rise in skilled worker visas for other food and hospitality roles, such as butchers and restaurant managers.

Skilled worker visas in the accommodation and food services sector will account for 17% by early 2024, more than double the proportion from two years ago.

While government rule changes are aimed at reducing overall immigration, business groups are concerned about filling the vacancies.