Workers from India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe have had the greatest number of visa applications refused, according to an analysis of Home Office figures.
Global talent firm Immpact looked at Home Office data for the year ending September 2024, revealing that there were more than 56,000 work visa applications rejected by the Home Office.
Applicants from Bangladesh, Ghana, Pakistan, Nigeria and Kenya were the least likely to be granted a work visa, Immpact found.
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The grant rate for Bangladesh was 75%, while for Ghana it was 77%, meaning almost a quarter were refused.
The country that applicants were most likely to apply from was the US, which made up more than 11,000 of the applications analysed. This was followed by Tajikistan, China, and Turkey.
France was the only European country on the list, with 5,378 applications and the fewest visa refusals.
Across all visa categories (work, family, student and visit), there were over 664,000 rejections by the Home Office in the year to September 2024. This reflected the start of more stringent restrictions on employing overseas workers that came into force in that year.
The most common reasons for rejecting a visa were insufficient funds, inaccurate or misleading information in applications, and a lack of genuine ties to the home country. Other reasons included a criminal record or security concerns, or previous immigration violations.
Jonathan Beech, managing director of Immpact, explained that over 70% of applicants were thought to have handled their own visa submissions “despite the UK’s increasingly complex and ever-changing immigration system”.
He estimated that the Home Office has benefited from around £125 million in retaining fees from refused applications.
New measures introduced by the current government could see visa refusals increase further in the next 12-month period.
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On 1 July, the Home Office laid out new rules in parliament that will see salary and skills thresholds rise for work visas, and 111 occupations removed from eligibility for sponsorship.
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