{"id":517456,"date":"2021-09-06T17:03:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T15:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=517456"},"modified":"2021-09-06T17:03:25","modified_gmt":"2021-09-06T15:03:25","slug":"heres-how-many-south-africans-are-moving-to-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/517456\/heres-how-many-south-africans-are-moving-to-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s how many South Africans are moving to the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

UK immigration and travel has been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with far fewer South Africans making the move abroad compared to previous years, data from Sable International<\/a><\/strong> shows.<\/p>\n

The data recorded for entry clearance visas granted outside the UK shows a sharp drop in applications made overseas.<\/p>\n

At the end of December 2020, a total of 996,636 entry clearance visas were granted, compared to 3,171,721 in 2019. This represents a decrease of 69%.<\/p>\n

“Since 2012, there have generally been year-on-year increases in the number of visitors to the UK,” Sable international said.<\/p>\n

“However, in 2020 the number decreased by 79% (1.9 million), with only 506,644 visitor visas granted compared to the previous year\u2019s over 2.4 million.”<\/p>\n

17,288 <\/strong>of these visitor visas were granted to South Africans – the 10th most of any country.<\/p>\n

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Work visas<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the number of visitor visas has declined, data from the UK’s Home Office shows that the country remains a popular destination for South Africans who are moving for work, to study or to join family members.<\/p>\n

A total of 125,173 work visas were approved by December 2020, Sable International said. This was made up of:<\/p>\n