On 12 May, the Government released a new white paper outlining plans to develop “an immigration system which promotes growth but is controlled and managed”. Entitled ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’, the paper’s key focus is on reducing net migration.
One of the most significant proposals is to end the overseas recruitment of social care workers under the Health and Care Worker visa route, affecting standard occupation classification codes 6135 and 6136. The route will remain open for nurses, doctors and other trained healthcare workers in other job codes.
Care workers have been widely recognised for their vital contributions to the UK’s social care sector, however concerns about high numbers of applications, abuse and exploitation within this visa route have persisted.
The care visa has long been subject to enhanced scrutiny, with changes under the previous Conservative government to stop care workers bringing dependant family members to the UK to discourage applicants.
Abuse and malpractice are also in focus. In March, the Home Office disclosed that more than 470 care providers have had their sponsorship licences suspended since 2022. This enforcement action has led to approximately 40,000 care workers being displaced. Since the Labour government took power, changes were introduced in April 2025 to effectively reimpose a Resident Labour Market Test for the care sector in a bid to redeploy those carers legitimately back into the workforce in preference to further overseas recruitment. Changes were also made to protect workers from unfair costs as unscrupulous recruiters had previously been charging workers vast sums for the chance to work in the UK. Despite efforts to address these issues, indications are that they remain a serious challenge, and this has driven the proposals in the white paper.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that closing the care worker visa route along with other restrictions on lower skilled work visas could reduce net migration by up to 50,000 in the current year. She acknowledged the plight of many individuals who arrived in the UK in good faith under this visa, only to find themselves unemployed due to inadequate oversight and insufficient safeguards.
The proposed changes will only ban new visa applications submitted from abroad. A transition period will remain in place until 2028 (subject to review), allowing existing visa holders in the UK to extend their stay or switch visas domestically.
The Home Office has said that lower skilled roles (at RQF levels 3 – 5 i.e. below degree level) will be put into a Temporary Shortage List to make these time limited but there is no expectation that care workers will be included in that measure.
These proposals aim to reduce the UK’s reliance on overseas labour to address workforce shortages in the care sector. The white paper also reaffirms the Government’s commitment to addressing workforce issues through structural reforms. This includes the introduction of Fair Pay Agreements, which will enable workers, employers and sector representatives to collaboratively negotiate improvements in employment conditions – ultimately reducing dependence on migrant labour. The question will be whether the care sector can fill the gap quickly enough without there being a compromise on quality if these proposals are implemented. The reality remains that care providers will require urgent support to upskill and retain staff, with the need for structured training and recognised qualifications being greater than ever. The white paper will demand these changes to be delivered in a backdrop of increasingly tight operational budgets due to a substantial proportion of the sector limited in its ability to invest due to tight pricing of government care contracts leaving care homes at risk of folding and not able to keep up with care demands.
It is important to note that these are currently proposals, and the Government has promised a period of public consultation before any changes are made. The existing immigration rules remain in effect until any legislative changes are formally enacted. This does, however, leave care providers in limbo as the date of the changes coming in and the extent of the new restrictions remain unknown. We will provide further updates as more information becomes available.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding these proposed changes, please do not hesitate to contact our team.
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The content of this article is for general information only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. If you require any further information in relation to this article please contact the author in the first instance. Law covered as at May 2025.