UK Shuts Down Overseas Care Worker Visas in Bold Migration Crackdown.
The UK government has announced it will shut down the visa route for recruiting care workers from overseas. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper revealed the plan during an appearance on Sky News with Trevor Phillips on Sunday May 11. Her statement marks a new direction in UK immigration policy aimed at reducing net migration by tightening restrictions on what officials are calling lower skilled jobs.
Speaking on the program Cooper said the country will no longer issue care worker visas as part of a wider move to lower the number of foreign workers entering Britain for entry level roles. She added that the focus needs to shift to bringing in higher skilled professionals and training more citizens within the UK instead of depending on overseas labor.
“We are bringing in new visa controls to limit lower skilled migration” Cooper said. “We believe that instead of looking abroad the answer is to train people right here and provide more opportunities to our own workforce.”
The decision will cut off overseas hiring in care entirely. The Home Office also confirmed this through an update published on the Gov.uk portal stating that the visa route would be closed and further overseas hiring would stop.
More clarity is expected as the government prepares to unveil its Immigration White Paper this week. It is expected to offer a broader outline of how the UK plans to reshape its approach to legal immigration and labor market needs.
But the decision has already drawn strong criticism from the care industry. Care England which represents private care providers called the announcement devastating. Martin Green the group’s chief executive said the decision would damage a sector already struggling with high vacancy rates and heavy staff shortages. According to him international recruitment has been a lifeline keeping care homes afloat and ending it now is like pulling the plug on a fragile system.
The government also announced plans to assess for possible deportation any foreign nationals who commit crimes in the UK. This is part of a wider effort to strengthen border enforcement and ensure that those who abuse the system are removed swiftly.
In a series of Sunday interviews Cooper stopped short of committing to any specific targets for reducing net migration. But she made it clear that the priority now is to reduce recruitment in what the government considers low skill areas.
When asked on the BBC by Laura Kuenssberg how care homes will fill the staffing gaps Cooper said care providers should hire from within. She mentioned there are people already in the UK on care visas who have been exploited by bad employers. These workers she argued are still available and could be offered fair and legal employment.
“Care companies can extend visas for those already here. They can also look at people on other valid visas. But we strongly believe it is time to end the recruitment of care workers from abroad” Cooper said.
This policy shift signals a new chapter in the UK’s migration story. One where local training and upskilling may be forced to pick up the slack left by the absence of international care workers who for years have been holding up the system.
