Whitehall 'is spending £5million of taxpayers' money on visas for foreign workers'

Published: 00:12 BST, 12 October 2026 | Updated: 00:13 BST, 12 October 2026

Millions of pounds in taxpayers' money are being spent by the Government on hiring foreign staff, it has been revealed.

Official figures show that in the two years since Labour came to power, Whitehall departments have spent at least £5million on more than 1,500 visas for overseas workers.

Some of the cash has gone on candidates for skilled jobs who applied while living abroad, but in other cases migrants already in the UK are having visa extensions being paid for by sponsoring departments.

It comes after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood admitted her ministerial colleagues are constantly lobbying her for more visas and accused them of being too quick to 'pull the immigration lever'.

On Sunday Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Mike Wood told the Daily Mail: 'It is absurd that taxpayers are footing the bill for individual visa renewals for civil service staff. If foreign workers want to stay in Britain, they should pay their own way, not expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab.

'There is nothing wrong with recruiting some workers from overseas where they are genuinely needed, but the cost of their visas should not automatically fall on the British taxpayer.'

Callum McGoldrick, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'The surge in visa sponsorships under Labour is no surprise given their ruinously punitive employment and taxation policies.

'With the benefits and tax system increasingly incentivising people to leave employment, it's no wonder that the government itself is having to look to foreign nationals to fill roles in Whitehall. This is costing taxpayers an absolute fortune.'

Millions of pounds in taxpayers' money are being spent by the Government on hiring foreign staff (Pictured: civil servants outside the Foreign Office)

Robert Bates, Research Director at the Centre for Migration Control, added: 'This is a double whammy from Whitehall. Not only have domestic workers been overlooked in favour of those from overseas, but the taxpayer has been forced to cover the sponsorship costs.

'At a time when policymakers should be looking to cut migration numbers, this suggests too many continue to instinctively reach for the migration lever.

'Government departments have a serious problem if they believe it is appropriate to rack up such a steep bill in order to hire foreign nationals. It is entirely inappropriate for functions of the state to become reliant on foreign labour whilst failing to properly invest and train in Brits.'

Huge numbers of the visas have been bought by the Ministry of Justice to find staff to work in prisons and courts in the two years since the election.

The department paid £1.2m to UK Visas and Immigration for more than 500 visas between July 2024 and the end of 2025.

Then in the first five months of this year alone the MoJ – at the centre of a major row over dangerous prisoners being released early to free up space behind bars – spent another £2m on 500 more visas.

Ministers were forced to exempt hundreds of West African prison officers from immigration rules last year so they could stay in Britain and avoid a staffing crisis.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'We employ almost 80,000 people including a small proportion of non-UK nationals who are working to keep our streets safe.

'Like all organisations holding a sponsorship licence, we are required to pay certain fees to the Home Office, but we do not fund individuals' visa application costs.'

Another 330 sponsorship fees have been covered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) since the election, according to transparency data published by the Government, costing £1m.

A spokesman said: 'The DWP is the largest government department with over 90,000 employees who work to deliver vital services to millions of people.

'These payments cover the issuing and extension of visas for less than one percent of DWP staff, and this is in accordance with current Home Office eligibility requirements.'

HM Revenue & Customs has spent over £500,000 on 150 foreign staff while the Attorney General's Office has paid out £200,000 on 55 visas for 'Government lawyers'.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Department for Education and Department for Transport have also published data showing they are paying for migrant workers' visas too.

A Government spokesman said: 'An extremely small proportion of civil servants are employed on visas, with roles across the organisation awarded on merit following competitive hiring processes.

'More broadly, we set out our commitment to reducing overall migration levels under the Immigration White Paper, ensuring we end reliance on overseas labour and boost economic growth.'