The ban on recruiting care workers or senior care workers from abroad on skilled worker visas has come into force.
The immigration rule change means adult social care providers will not be able to sponsor new staff from abroad on the health and care worker visa to work in these roles.
Care workers or senior care workers on the visa will be able to continue working under sponsorship in the UK, either with their existing employer or a new provider, up until 22 July 2028.
Providers will also be able to sponsor overseas staff who are in the UK under another immigration route, such as a graduate visa, so long as they have been working for the employer as a care worker or senior care worker for at least three months. However, this option will also end on 22 July 2028.
Ending reliance on overseas staff
The policy, announced in the May 2025 immigration white paper, is designed to end adult social care's recent reliance on overseas staff, which the government, like many in the sector, has attributed to poor terms and conditions deterring UK staff.The number of international staff recruited into direct roles in England’s independent care sector rose from 20,000 in 2021-22 to 105,000 in 2023-24 (source: Skills for Care), after the then government relaxed immigration rules to tackle record vacancy levels.
Numbers have subsequently dropped significantly, likely due to the previous government barring care workers from bringing dependants with them, from March 2024.
As a result, the government predicts the ban on overseas recruitment will reduce immigration by only 7,000 a year. Ministers also see the overseas recruitment ban as a response to the exploitation of many sponsored staff, either by unscrupulous employers or recruiters.
Sector concerns over recruitment ban
However, providers and sector leaders vigorously oppose the policy, due to their ongoing struggles to recruit and retain staff in adult social care.As of March 2025, 8.2% of care worker roles and 4.8% of senior care worker positions lay vacant in England's independent sector, according to provisional figures from Skills for Care.
The policy is also opposed by the Scottish Government, whose minister for migration, Kaukab Stewart said today that it would "be devastating for the care sector in Scotland and across the UK".
Fair pay agreement
The government sees its planned fair pay agreement for adult social care - which will be legislated for by the current Employment Rights Bill - as a vehicle for increasing the attractiveness of a career in the sector for UK workers.This will involve the creation of an Adult Social Care Negotiating Body, including representation from employers and unions, to determine pay and conditions for staff in England.
However, there is currently no timeframe for the body to be up and running nor any funding allocated by government for councils, in their role as care commissioners, to raise provider fees to implement pay and conditions improvements.
