Stay and help
The temporary visa scheme was announced last week as panic buying hit filling stations across the UK, with a shortage of HGV drivers having affected supplies of petrol and diesel.
As well as foreign drivers, 5,500 poultry workers will also be allowed in to help keep supermarket shelves stocked with turkeys before Christmas.
But it added that the visas will not be a long-term solution and it wants to see employers make investments in the UK domestic workforce instead of relying on overseas labour.
It said it is also working with industry to find long-term solutions to the shortage of HGV drivers and to encourage more people to enter the logistics by improving pay and conditions.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Thanks to the immense efforts of industry over the past week, we are seeing continued signs that the situation at the pumps is slowly improving.
“UK forecourt stock levels are trending up, deliveries of fuel to forecourts are above normal levels, and fuel demand is stabilising.
“It’s important to stress there is no national shortage of fuel in the UK, and people should continue to buy fuel as normal. The sooner we return to our normal buying habits, the sooner we can return to normal.”
