The latest Home Office figures give employers a useful picture of what is happening to sponsored recruitment in the UK.
Work visa numbers are falling. Skilled Worker applications are down. Refusals are up.
For businesses that still need to recruit internationally, this makes the work done before a Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned increasingly important.
The latest figures
Home Office statistics published on 27 August show that 234,841 work visas, including dependants, were issued in the year ending June 2026. That was 18% lower than the previous year and 62% below the peak recorded in the year ending December 2023.
The change is even clearer when looking at the main sponsored Worker routes.
There were 120,105 Worker visas issued in the year ending June 2026, 30% fewer than the previous year.
Skilled Worker visas fell by 26% to 61,120. Of those, 26,894 were issued to main applicants.
The number of applications under the Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker routes has also fallen substantially. At the same time, the proportion of decisions resulting in refusal has increased. It stood at 15% in the year ending June 2026, compared with 7% at the end of 2023.
These figures do not mean employers should stop recruiting internationally. They do mean that sponsorship decisions need to be made carefully.
The job needs to qualify before the candidate is sponsored
The Skilled Worker route allows an approved employer to sponsor an overseas worker for an eligible job.
Since July 2025, a job will normally need to be skilled to RQF level 6 or above unless an exception applies. Some jobs below that level can currently qualify through the Immigration Salary List, Temporary Shortage List or transitional arrangements.
More than 100 occupations lost access to the Skilled Worker route following the changes to the skill requirements.
Employers should therefore check the proposed occupation code before making a recruitment commitment.
The job title alone does not determine the occupation code. The actual duties need to correspond with the code being used.
Some shortage arrangements are temporary
Employers recruiting into occupations on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List also need to look ahead.
The current sponsor guidance states that entries on these lists are time-limited. The jobs currently listed are due to be removed by the end of 2026 unless the Migration Advisory Committee recommends that they should remain, subject to separate arrangements for care workers and senior care workers.
A business that expects to recruit into one of these occupations during 2027 should not assume that today's sponsorship position will still apply.
This is particularly relevant when workforce plans extend beyond a single vacancy.
Existing sponsored workers need attention too
The new statistics show another side of the market.
While new Skilled Worker grants have fallen, Skilled Worker extensions increased by 11% to 196,097 in the year ending June 2026.
Many employers are therefore dealing with an established sponsored workforce at the same time as the rules for new recruitment have become more restrictive.
Those employers need to know when existing employees' immigration permission expires and whether transitional provisions apply to them.
An existing sponsored worker should not automatically be assessed under exactly the same conditions as somebody being sponsored for the first time.
Check before assigning the Certificate of Sponsorship
The practical point for employers is simple.
Do the immigration assessment before the recruitment decision becomes difficult to reverse.
Check the occupation code and skill level. Confirm the correct salary requirement. Establish whether the candidate needs sponsorship and whether another immigration route is available. Check whether any transitional provision applies.
The business should also be able to explain why the vacancy exists and show that the job described on the Certificate of Sponsorship reflects the position the employee will actually perform.
Once the employer has offered the job, agreed a start date and committed money to the recruitment, discovering an immigration problem becomes considerably more expensive.
Planning for 2027 should start now
Businesses that regularly recruit internationally should use the autumn to map their expected recruitment for 2027.
Identify the roles likely to require sponsorship. Check which occupations may be affected by the end-of-year shortage-list arrangements. Review existing sponsored workers and their visa expiry dates.
The sponsor licence should be reviewed at the same time.
UKVI updated the Worker sponsor register repeatedly during August, including on 24, 25, 26 and 27 August. Sponsor status is not something an employer should simply assume remains unchanged.
International recruitment still gives UK businesses access to skills they may struggle to find domestically. But the current system leaves less room for poorly planned sponsorship.
Flashpoint Legal
Flashpoint Legal advises employers on sponsor licences, Skilled Worker sponsorship and immigration compliance.
We can assess a proposed recruitment before a Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned, review the correct occupation and salary requirements and advise existing sponsor licence holders on their international workforce plans.
If your business expects to recruit overseas workers during the remainder of 2026 or in 2027, contact Flashpoint Legal before making the sponsorship commitment.
Important: This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Immigration Rules and Home Office guidance change regularly. Advice should be based on the circumstances of the employer and worker.