Skilled Worker grants fall while extensions keep rising
28 Aug 2026
If you already hold a Skilled Worker visa and are thinking about extending, you are in good company. Home Office statistics published on 27 August 2026 show that Skilled Worker extension grants rose by 11% to 196,097 in the year ending June 2026, even as new visas issued on the route fell.
The same release shows that visas issued for the Skilled Worker route "decreased by 26% to 61,120 in the YE June 2026", with main applicant grants down 30% and dependant grants down 23%. In other words, fewer people are entering the route for the first time, but the pool of people extending toward settlement keeps growing.
If you are on a Skilled Worker visa and getting close to your five year point, this data is a reminder that extension processing is a high volume, routine part of the system right now. It is still worth applying for your extension in good time and keeping a clear record of any time spent outside the UK, since that record matters just as much when you eventually apply for ILR.
Use our calculator to track your absences and see how close you are to qualifying for settlement.
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