Fresh migration statistics were published this morning, showing that health and care visas for foreign workers have almost doubled to 146,477 in the last year.
Family members joining their relatives via this route accounted for 73 per cent of the 279,131 work dependent visas that were granted in the year up to December 2023, new figures from the Home Office show.
The UK granted asylum to 62,336 people in 2023, the highest level ever recorded.
The asylum backlog, however, has fallen. The number of cases awaiting an initial decision has fallen by 28 per cent since December 2022.
The Government has published fresh migration statistics this morning, showing that health and care visas for foreign workers have almost doubled to 146,477 in the last year
PA
At the end of December 2023, there were 95,252 cases waiting for an initial decision.
In total, there were 67,337 new asylum applications in the UK in 2023, 17 per cent lower than in 2022.
Some 45,434 asylum seekers are still being housed in taxpayer-funded hotels, despite Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop using them.
The number of people being housed in hotels has fallen 18 per cent since September 2023, when 56,042 were in the taxpayer-funded rooms.
Responding to the figures, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "These damning statistics show how Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have lost control of our immigration system and our border security - and have no plan to turn it around.
“A year after promising to end their use, almost 46,000 people are still stuck in hotels. The Tories’ failure to clear the backlog and return small boats arrivals has blown a £4 billion hole in the Home Office budget, paid at taxpayers' expense. Meanwhile, work visas are soaring due to their failure to train people here in the UK.
“Labour has a plan to restore order to the border, fix our broken asylum system and increase returns, and improve skills and conditions here at home. Only Labour can deliver the change we need."
In December, the Government announced that it will tighten several criteria for legal migration, including preventing care workers from bringing over their families, raising salary thresholds for most skilled workers and increasing application fees.
Home Secretary James Cleverly unveiled a five-point plan to curb legal migration, in a move which he said would cut migration by up to 300,000.
He claimed the move will cause the "biggest ever reduction" in migration.
The Government will raise the minimum salary threshold for work visas to £38,700 and ban care workers from bringing dependents.
James Cleverly unveiled a five-point plan to curb legal migration in December, in a move which he said would cut migration by up to 300,000
PA
It will also scrap the shortage occupation list and replace it with a new Immigration Salary List.
The Government will raise the income needed to bring family into the UK to £38,700 and review the graduate visa route.