The government has spent over half a million pounds on foreign visas for civil servants so far and is on track for a £4.2 million bill for foreign employees by the end of Parliament, MailOnline can reveal.

FOI data showed Sir Keir Starmer‘s government spent at least £566,000 on visas for foreign nationals in the first eight months after last July’s election, in areas including the Department of Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Defence.

The DWP – run by Secretary of State Liz Kendall – was the worst offender, spending a total of £368,655 on visas for employees from last year’s election to March this year.

If expenditure continues at the same level, this will equate to almost a £2.8 million bill for this department alone by July 2029.

It comes as the Labour government faces increasing pressure over cost-saving decisions including cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners, implementing inheritance tax on farms and reforming PIP benefits.

Yet while blaming a £22 billion fiscal black hole left by the previous Conservative government, ministers do not seem to be cutting back on foreign employees at the heart of government.

Individuals who wish to work in the UK but who are not citizens typically have to pay several thousand pounds to attain a visa allowing them to gain paid employment.

This includes a one-off application fee ranging from £769 to £1,751 and an annual cost of £1,035 for a skilled worker visa. 

Certain companies and organisations sponsor these visas for their employees alongside their pay package – meaning workers do not have to stump up the cash themselves.

It is these fees that will see the government splurge more than £4 million by the end of Parliament, current estimates show.  

The Cabinet Office spent the second-largest amount on foreign visas until March, at £56,153, followed by the Department of Health and Social Care at £45,658 and the Department of Science, Information and Technology at £42,309. 

The DSIT said its spending related to 18 employees, 12 of which ‘are employed within the AI Security Institute which requires highly specialised skills.’

A spokesperson added: ‘These roles meet skills requirements for sponsorship, with the majority of visas sponsored by DSIT allocated to individuals with highly specialised skill sets.’

Perhaps the most eye-catching spend on the list was by the Ministry of Defence, which spent £9,717 on sponsoring skilled visas.

By contrast, the Foreign Office told MailOnline it did not sponsor any employee visas because a right to work in the UK is a requirement for all applicants to its roles. 

In total, government spent £566,102 on visas by March 2025, putting it on track for a £4,245,762 bill by the end of Parliament.

It follows Sir Keir’s pledge in March to slim down the civil service, when he described the British state as ‘overcautious and flabby’.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves also used her Spring Statement in March to set out how she wants to cut Government running costs by 15 percent by 2030.

The size of the civil service has ballooned over recent years following the Brexit referendum and the Covid pandemic.

Just last month the Cabinet Office announced it would be scrapping 1,200 roles – almost a third of its 6,500 ‘core staff’.

The government’s reliance on foreign workers comes as it faces growing calls to reverse cuts to the winter fuel allowance, which meant wealthier pensioners did not receive help with heating bills last winter.

Following a resounding performance by Reform in last week’s local elections, Labour is coming under pressure from left and right to reverse spending cuts made in the early days of government.

A government spokesperson said: ‘Under our Plan for Change, our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system, linking immigration, skills and visa systems to grow our domestic workforce, end reliance on overseas labour and boost economic growth.’