JAKARTA - Indian nationals received the highest number of UK work visa extension grants on both the Health and Care Worker and Skilled Worker routes in the year ending March 2026, according to Home Office statistics published on May 21. The department said Indian nationals received 107,306 Health and Care Worker extensions and 89,851 Skilled Worker extensions.
The extension figures contrasted with a continued fall in new visas issued to workers outside the UK. The Home Office said new Health and Care Worker visas fell 38% to 42,658 in the year ending March 2026. Skilled Worker visas issued outside the UK also fell 30% to 68,067.
Work visa extensions cover people already inside the UK who apply to stay longer or switch status before their existing visa expires. That means extensions can rise even when new overseas recruitment falls. The Home Office said extension grants for work routes remained stable at 738,132 in the latest year, with Health and Care Worker extensions rising 25% to 328,232 and Skilled Worker extensions rising 16% to 199,117.
The Home Office said the rise reflected earlier arrivals, with many workers from the 2022 and 2023 intake now “seeking to extend their stay and continue working in the UK.” Those workers were less exposed to later rule changes aimed at reducing new arrivals on the same routes.
The wider work visa picture moved in the opposite direction. The UK issued 252,775 work visas in the year ending March 2026, including dependents, down 17% from the previous year and 59% below the peak recorded in the year ending December 2023. The latest total included 166,576 main applicants and 86,199 dependents.
The Health and Care Worker route recorded the sharpest change. Main applicant grants on the route fell 53% to 10,509, and dependent grants fell 30% to 32,149. The Home Office said Health and Care Worker visas for migrant workers in caring personal service occupations fell 82% compared with the year ending December 2023, after overseas recruitment of care workers ended in July 2025.
The Home Office said the earlier rise in Health and Care Worker main applicants came largely from South Asian and Sub-Saharan African nationals, including Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers. In the latest year, Pakistani nationals ranked second for Skilled Worker extensions with 16,607 grants.
Nigerian nationals ranked second for Health and Care Worker extensions with 89,575 grants, followed by Zimbabwean nationals with 31,117. On the Skilled Worker route, Nigerian nationals ranked third with 13,409 extensions.
