TL;DR: On 12 May 2026 the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published an independent report, Who stays, who leaves? Evidence from the Skilled Worker route. It uses a new dataset that combines Migrant Journey records with Certificate of Sponsorship data to estimate how long Skilled Worker main applicants remain in the UK. The MAC framed the analysis as evidence for forthcoming policy decisions on settlement and temporary shortage list occupations rather than as a recommendation.
The MAC report focuses on stay rates: the share of Skilled Worker main applicants who still hold valid immigration status — a valid visa, indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or British citizenship — at a given point after arrival.
Headline stay-rate findings
According to the report, 74% of Skilled Worker migrants arriving in 2014 remained in the UK five years later, compared with 85% of those arriving in 2019. The MAC presents this as a broadly upward trend across recent cohorts.
The analysis also identifies a gender gap: female Skilled Worker visa holders are approximately five percentage points more likely than male holders to still hold valid immigration status after five years.
Age at arrival is associated with markedly different outcomes. Migrants entering the route at 45 or older show roughly 65% five-year retention, against 81% for those under 45.
Sector and nationality patterns
By industry, the report places Health and Social Care at the highest retention level — 88.2% of migrants working in this sector still held valid immigration status after five years — with nurses specifically at around 94% five years after arrival. At the lower end, the report identifies natural and social science professionals, predominantly academics, with only 57% remaining in the UK after five years. Care worker data is more limited because the occupation was added to the route in 2021–2022.
By country of nationality, the MAC links stay rates to economic conditions in the country of origin. Migrants from higher-income countries such as the United States, China and South Africa show lower stay rates than those from Nigeria, Ghana and Bangladesh. The MAC estimates that income per capita accounts for around 29% of the variation in stay rates between nationalities.
Settlement and citizenship pathways
For pre-2020 cohorts, the report notes that most Skilled Worker migrants who obtain ILR go on to obtain British citizenship, though a significant minority do not. The MAC flags that policy changes which make the settlement offer less generous could particularly affect groups with lower current stay rates, including higher earners and those working in higher education.
The MAC report does not itself change the Immigration Rules. It is published alongside accompanying data tables on the same GOV.UK page.
Official source
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/who-stays-who-leaves-evidence-from-the-skilled-worker-route