UK Hospitals Face 'Car Crash' as Overseas Nurse Numbers Plummet 93%
Hospitals and care homes across the United Kingdom are confronting what experts describe as "an impending car crash" following new research that reveals a catastrophic collapse in overseas nursing and care staff recruitment. Analysis of Home Office data shows the number of overseas nurses granted entry to the UK has fallen by a staggering 93% over just three years.
Dramatic Decline in Healthcare Professionals
The research, conducted by the charity Work Rights Centre, indicates that only 1,777 overseas nurses were granted entry in 2025, compared with 26,100 in 2022. The situation appears even more dire for care workers, with visas for workers in caring personal service occupations – including care workers, nursing auxiliaries, ambulance staff and dental workers – experiencing a 97% decline over two years, falling from 107,847 granted entry in 2023 to just 3,178 in 2025.
"No hospital is likely to welcome a 93% drop in overseas nurses," said Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, chief executive of the Work Rights Centre, which carried out the research. "At a time when 25,000 nursing vacancies remain unfilled, and no British worker will want the pressure of working a double shift, these figures paint a picture of an impending car crash for our hospitals and care homes."
Broader Impact Across Skilled Professions
The decline extends beyond healthcare to other critical sectors. Visas issued to science, research, engineering and technology professionals from overseas fell to 9,072 in 2025 from a peak of 24,843 in 2022. Teaching and education professionals saw a 71% reduction in two years, while skilled tradespeople experienced a 73% decrease in visas issued.
Dr Vicol warned of widespread implications: "The sharp decline in migrant professionals coming to work in UK hospitals, research institutes and schools raises serious questions about the costs of the government's narrow focus on reducing migration. We face implications at every level – fiscal, economic, and particularly with regards to the sustainability of public services."
Industry Leaders Sound Alarm
Lynn Woolsey, chief nursing officer at the Royal College of Nursing, described the situation as "the worst of all worlds," warning that domestic recruitment was stalling while international recruitment sharply declined. "At the current rate, the numbers of domestic nurses joining will nowhere near make up for the collapse in overseas nursing staff coming to the UK," she stated.
Nadra Ahmed, executive chair of the National Care Association representing approximately 5,000 social care providers, highlighted the sector's dependence on international recruits: "The reason we need international recruits is because no government has given us any solutions to getting a domestic workforce. Who is going to look after the people that we support? The domestic workforce is not applying."
Ahmed reported that care workers are increasingly leaving for European countries including Germany and Ireland for more attractive conditions, while others become displaced when providers lose sponsorship rights. "We have started to see care homes closing – people are throwing in the towel," she revealed.
Policy Context and Future Concerns
The research highlights the impact of the UK's migration policy shift, which some economists fear will compound skill shortages, inflation, tax rises and problems meeting the needs of an ageing population. Overall, skilled worker visas have fallen for the ninth consecutive quarter to the lowest levels since 2021 as visa conditions have been systematically tightened.
Simon Bottery, senior fellow for social care policy at The King's Fund, noted that reduced overseas recruitment has become a "fact of life" for the social care sector, requiring "a much greater emphasis on recruiting and developing a homegrown workforce" to sustain services.
Dr Vicol expressed particular concern about broader implications: "We know the government has really ambitious housebuilding targets. I can't see how this decline in skilled trades professionals is going to support that." The research underscores growing tensions between migration reduction goals and maintaining essential public services across healthcare, education, construction and research sectors.
