New research has uncovered the top professions in the UK for migrant workers. Data compiled by The Telegraph has revealed the top British occupations which are supported by labour from overseas, with some standout lines of work.

Care work is the profession with the highest population of migrants among the labour force, with 111,559 work visas handed out in total between 2021 and 2024. These visas were most likely to be given to applicants from Nigeria and Zimbabwe, with more than 22,000 each. Over 33,000 visas were granted to Indian nursing applicants alone, with the industry following close behind for most migrant-intensive profession.

South Africans were the nationality most likely to relocate to the UK to work in chartered accountancy, with 1,449 visas given out. Among the top earners were migrants from Japan and St Kitts and Nevis, who made £55,200 in average pay were most likely to work in sales account or as business development managers. Other high-paid migrants hailed from Israel, whose nationals were granted 92 visas between 2021 and 2024, making an average wage of £54,669.

Israelis were most likely to work as programmers and software development professionals, which was also the top profession for Hong Kongers, Hungarians and Croatians who moved to the UK.

Lower paid work was common among Afghans, Bangladeshis and Kenyans, who all were most likely to come to Britain to work in care, taking home an average wage of £25,570.

Indians were granted the most work visas, with 33,046 given out between 2021 and 2024, followed by Nigeria and Ukraine, who were given 22,368 and 20,691 respectively in the same period.

Harry Reeves, 28, spoke to The Telegraph about his career as a paramedic, having moved to Britain from Australia.

He said: "There’s no doubt demand on UK ambulance trusts is higher than back home. In Australia, population density is lower, but that’s actually why I, and so many Australian paramedics, come. Demand brings more opportunity, and actually, better structure and conditions. At the same time, because of the demand, the UK needs us.

"Being a paramedic wasn’t a registered profession in Australia like it is here until 2018, and you trained on the job. When that changed and a proliferation of undergraduate paramedicine courses opened, the result was more grads than jobs available. British ambulance trusts began to come to Australian universities to recruit."

After working in his home country for six years, he answered a recruitment call from the UK and receives incentives such as reimbursed flights and the first month of accommodation.

Pearl Cruz, a 43-year-old nurse from Mumbai, India, shared her experience of migrating for work.

She said: "There’s a long history of nursing in India, dating back to the colonial period when English nursing superintendents were posted to south India to establish services. It came to be seen as a socially acceptable profession for Indian women.

"Around 30 or 40 years ago, Indian nurses began going to America to work, but as the nursing shortage got worse in Britain, there was a greater collaboration between our countries."

After moving to Birmingham in July 2023, she now works as a research sister in haematology, though she had been a chief of quality in her home hospital.

Harry and Pearl’s experiences were not uncommon, as the proportion of the NHS workforce born outside the UK rose from around 11% in 2010 to over 18% in 2023.