Value for Money
Immigration: Skilled Worker visas
Ahead of the government’s Immigration White Paper, the NAO has examined the Home Office’s management of the Skilled Worker visa route.
Recommendations (11)
Source: NAO Recommendations Tracker · PAC follow-up below
Home Office
Rec 1
Accepted
Work in Progress
In the next six months, work with the Migration Advisory Committee,
Skills England, the Industrial Strategy Council and Labour Market Advisory
Board to establish an agreed methodological approach to better understand
the role that immigration can play in addressing skills shortages across
different sectors of the labour market. This should identify the data that are
needed, how they will be collected, processed and brought together, and how
the insights will be used to inform future changes to visa entry requirements
so they are based on a thorough understanding of the potential impacts on
labour markets and the risks posed by exploitation.
Home Office
Rec 10
Accepted
Implemented
Before the end of 2025, work with relevant government agencies and stakeholders to establish new working arrangements to develop a more effective joined-up approach to tackling exploitation of visa holders. Specifically, these should: review data-sharing arrangements with local authorities and HM Revenue & Customs to identify the refinements necessary to improve its ability to identify potential labour market abuses and improve safeguarding for people whose status is jeopardised by the cancellation of sponsor licences
Home Office
Rec 11
Accepted
Work in Progress
Before the end of 2025, work with relevant government agencies and stakeholders to establish new working arrangements to develop a more effective joined-up approach to tackling exploitation of visa holders. Specifically, these should: establish ways of working with the Fair Work Agency to improve labour market standards for migrants on Skilled Worker visas
Home Office
Rec 2
Accepted
Implemented
Improve efficiency and customer service by using an analysis of its existing management information on operational performance, including from customer surveys, contacts, complaints and appeals, to produce a service improvement plan that identifies service issues, actions to resolve them, and creates a new dashboard to provide a more complete view of service quality from a customer perspective ? this might include devising a way to improve how customers are kept informed throughout the application process
Home Office
Rec 3
Accepted
Implemented
Improve its understanding of the extent to which the Skilled Worker visa route is meeting its objectives by: complete an assessment of what happens to people at the end of their visa
period by the end of 2025, five years after the route was introduced
Home Office
Rec 4
Accepted
Implemented
Improve its understanding of the extent to which the Skilled Worker visa route is meeting its objectives by: identify the data it needs ? including from other departments ? to allow
it to better understand how the route is being used on an ongoing basis
Home Office
Rec 5
Accepted
Implemented
Improve its understanding of the extent to which the Skilled Worker visa route is meeting its objectives by: completing and publishing its evaluation of the Skilled Worker visa route within the next three months;
Home Office
Rec 6
Accepted
Work in Progress
Strengthen its approach to tackling non-compliance with visa conditions and potential labour market abuses by: explicitly evaluating non-compliance risks when considering any
expansion of the Skilled Worker visa route to include new occupations
Home Office
Rec 7
Accepted
Implemented
Strengthen its approach to tackling non-compliance with visa conditions and potential labour market abuses by: reviewing sector-specific risk assessments every six months to develop and refresh its understanding of evolving non-compliance risks
Home Office
Rec 8
Accepted
Implemented
Strengthen its approach to tackling non-compliance with visa conditions and potential labour market abuses by: evaluating the effectiveness of different types of compliance interventions
Home Office
Rec 9
Accepted
Implemented
Before the end of 2025, work with relevant government agencies and stakeholders to establish new working arrangements to develop a more effective joined-up approach to tackling exploitation of visa holders. Specifically, these should: identify ways to improve communication with overseas applicants to ensure that they have the necessary information on and support with the Skilled Worker visa route
Parliamentary Committee Follow-Up
The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.
37th Report - Immigration: Skilled worker visas
Public Accounts Committee
· 4 July 2025
· 20 recommendations