Overseas recruitment of care workers will end by 2028, under plans set out by the government today.
Ministers have unveiled controversial changes to visa and recruitment laws in a bid to cut net migration to the country.
“Give people the security, respect and stability they need”
Nicola Ranger
Nursing unions have criticised the plans, describing them as “pandering” and “scapegoating”.
The government said the new measures, set out in an Immigration White Paper, will put an end to overseas recruitment across the social care sector.
It comes as net migration climbed to a record 906,000 in June 2023, and last year it stood at 728,000.
The white paper noted that the expansion of Health and Care visa route, in 2022, to include care workers led to a sharp increase in immigration via this route.
In 2022, around 37,000 people came to the UK via this route, which leapt to 108,000 in 2023, it said.
Similarly, the UK saw an increase in visas for dependents of people who were coming to the country on this visa.
The annoucement comes as the government has been taking measures to clamp down on rogue care providers that exploit overseas staff, as well as other changes to social care recruitment.
The Home Office previously revealed that it had revoked more than 470 sponsor licences from employers in the care sector due to concerns about abuse and exploitation.
Then last month, the government made changes that require social care sector employers to prioritise hiring migrant workers already in England before recruiting from overseas.
Since 9 April, English care providers wanting to recruit a new worker from abroad have had to prove that they have attempted to employ someone already in the country who needs new visa sponsorship.
“International recruitment wasn’t a silver bullet, but it was a lifeline”
Martin Green
However, the white paper set out that “more needs to be done” to tackle net migration.
It said: “We have been clear about our concerns about the adult social care visa.
“The introduction of this visa route has led to significant concerns over abuse and exploitation of individual workers.
“We have taken steps to address these concerns, restricting access to overseas recruitment unless employers have first tried to recruit from the in-country redeployment pool, but the evidence shows more needs to be done.
“We will therefore end overseas recruitment for social care visas. In line with our wider reforms to skills thresholds, we will close social care visas to new applications from abroad.”
The government said there would be a “transition period” until 2028 – while a social care workforce strategy is being developed – where it would permit visa extensions, but that this would be kept under review.
Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, described the plans as “pandering and scapegoating”.
She said: “Many of you in this hall today started your nursing journey far away from here.
“So, let me it say again: you are more than welcome in the United Kingdom.
“Thank you for bringing your skills to this country and bringing your lives here.
“You know, more than I ever will, how hard that is – the obstacles, the costs, the hostility.”
Nicola Ranger speaking at RCN Congress 2025
Professor Ranger called on the government to “stop the game playing” and she set out several demands to improve the experiences of overseas staff.
She called on the government to grant indefinite leave to remain to all nursing staff “without delay” and to bring immigration charges down.
“Give people the security, respect and stability they need,” added Professor Ranger.
Also responding to the announcement, Unison general secretary Christina McAnea, said: “The NHS and the care sector would have collapsed long ago without the thousands of workers who’ve come to the UK from overseas.
“Migrant health and care staff already here will now be understandably anxious about what’s to happen to them.
“The government must reassure these overseas workers they’ll be allowed to stay and continue with their indispensable work.”
Martin Green
Meanwhile, Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said the announcement was a “crushing blow to an already fragile sector”.
He added: “The government is kicking us while we’re already down.
“For years, the sector has been propping itself up with dwindling resources, rising costs and mounting vacancies.
“International recruitment wasn’t a silver bullet, but it was a lifeline.
“Taking it away now, with no warning, no funding, and no alternative, is not just short-sighted – it’s cruel.”
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