The UK government has introduced new regulations requiring care sector employers to prioritise hiring migrant workers already residing in Britain before seeking recruits from overseas.
This initiative, effective from 9 April, is part of broader efforts to reduce legal migration numbers.
According to the Home Office, care providers must now demonstrate that they have attempted to employ workers within England who require new sponsorship before seeking candidates abroad.
This policy aims to ensure that those who migrated to the UK for a career in adult social care can find work while reducing reliance on foreign recruitment.
The tightening of rules follows concerns that some employers have been exploiting the Health & Care Visa scheme, which was launched in 2020 to address staff shortages after Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
This visa scheme enables care organisations to sponsor overseas workers, with more than 300,000 individuals—or nearly 745,000 including dependents—having entered the UK under this route by the end of 2024.
Migrant care workers under this visa are bound to their sponsoring employer but are permitted to work up to 20 additional hours per week for another care provider.
However, reports of exploitation have emerged, including instances where workers have been charged exorbitant fees for Certificates of Sponsorship or arrived in the UK only to find no available work, leaving them without income.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to reduce migration levels, with net migration peaking at 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
While figures have declined slightly, they remain high, fuelling public concerns over pressure on essential services. Since Labour took office last summer, protests on the issue have escalated, with some turning violent.
Between July 2022 and December 2024, the Home Office revoked over 470 sponsor licences in the care sector due to allegations of abuse and exploitation.
More than 39,000 workers were linked to these employers, yet only around 10,000 have been confirmed to have secured new roles.
Seema Malhotra, Minister for Migration and Citizenship, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting workers, stating: “Those who have come to the UK to support our adult care sector should have the opportunity to do so, free from abuse and exploitation.”
