UK government has implemented new visa rules affecting care providers, workers, and students. Strong anti-immigration sentiment across the country, the right wing's tendency to use immigration as a trump card, and the economic recession in Britain.

Prioritizing Domestic Recruitment:

Employers in the care sector are now required to demonstrate they have attempted to hire individuals already within the UK before seeking to recruit from overseas. This aims to reduce reliance on international recruitment.

Changes to Dependant Visas:

A significant change involves restrictions on dependants. Care workers and senior care workers on Skilled Worker visas (specifically those under certain occupation codes) are now restricted from bringing dependant family members (partners and children).

Care Home Sponsor Licensing:

Care home providers seeking to sponsor care workers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This measure intends to combat exploitation and abuse.

Skilled Worker Visa Salary Thresholds:

The minimum salary requirements for Skilled Worker visas are being increased.

Student Visa Measures:

The government is also tightening rules for student visas, particularly those for short-term English language courses, to address concerns about abuse of the system.

Starting April 9, care providers that want to hire foreign workers must first demonstrate that they have tried to hire someone who is currently in the country and requires new visa sponsorship, according to the Home Office. The government expects that the changes would help "end the reliance on overseas recruitment" and reduce record levels of immigration to Britain.

The minimum wage requirement for Skilled Worker visas is also being enhanced. To reflect the increase in the minimum wage, it will climb from £23,200 per year to £25,000 (or £12.82 per hour) starting in April. Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care, stated: "International care workers are an important part of our social care workforce. We admire their commitment and work to assist needy people across the country.

The minimum salary required for Skilled Worker visas is also being increased. From April it will rise from £23,200 per year to £25,000 (or £12.82 per hour) to reflect the rise in minimum wage.

Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care, said: “International care workers play a vital role in our social care workforce. We value their contribution and work supporting vulnerable people across the country every day.“As we crack down on shameful rogue operators exploiting overseas workers here in the UK, we must do all we can to get the victims back into rewarding careers in adult social care.“Prioritising care workers who are already in the UK will get people back to work reducing our reliance on international recruitment, and make sure our social care sector has the care professionals it needs.”

Changes to the short-term student route, which will expand powers for caseworkers to refuse visa applications suspected of not being genuine, have also been confirmed in a bid to clampdown on abuse of the system.

People from abroad who are studying English in Britain for between six and 11 months are allowed to apply for the permit. But the Home Office said there are increasing concerns that the route is being abused by people who do not actually intend to study or leave the UK at the end of their course.

It follows measures that see companies who repeatedly break immigration employment laws banned from hiring overseas workers.

Between July 2022 and December 2024, the Government revoked more than 470 sponsor licenses in the care sector.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship Seema Malhotra said: “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.

“We have already taken action to ensure employers are not able to flout the rules with little consequence or exploit international workers for costs they were always supposed to pay.

“We are now going further, requiring employers in England to prioritise recruiting international care workers who are already here and seeking new sponsorship, before recruiting from overseas.”

Figures released earlier this year showed nearly 400,000 fewer people from abroad have applied for UK work or study visas since strict new immigration rules came into force.

Provisional data showed 547,000 visa applications were received between April and December 2024, down from 942,500 in the same period in 2023.

The drop of 395,100, or 42 per cent, has been driven by sharp falls in the number of overseas students and foreign care workers applying to come to Britain.

Applications to come on a health and care worker visa fell by a much steeper 79 per cent, from 299,800 in April to December 2023 compared with 63,800 in the same period last year.