Key Takeaways
• 122 care companies lost sponsorship licenses in 2022-2023, affecting nearly 3,000 migrant workers.
• Workers have 60 days to find a new licensed sponsor or face deportation after sponsorship is revoked.
• Visa system vulnerabilities increase exploitation and financial loss for migrant care workers in the UK.
Thousands of migrant care workers in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 are now uncertain about their future. This uncertainty comes from a recent crisis involving the Home Support worker scheme—a visa program designed to address critical staff shortages in the UK care sector. Recent cases have shown that when an employer’s sponsorship license is revoked, the lives of many workers change overnight. As more workers face canceled sponsorships, concerns grow about deportation, exploitation, and the long-term impact this has on the care industry.
The Home Support Worker Scheme: Designed To Fill Gaps, But Now Under Scrutiny
The Home Support worker scheme was set up to attract much-needed care workers to the United Kingdom 🇬🇧. Many care homes and agencies in the UK have struggled for years to find enough local staff to help with the growing elderly population. The government’s answer was to bring in workers from overseas, giving them visas as long as they had a job offer from a licensed employer.
For many, this sounded like a good chance—a chance to work, send money home, and maybe build a better life. But now, this same scheme has become a source of stress and worry for thousands of migrants. According to records released from freedom of information requests, 122 care companies lost their sponsorship licenses in just two years (2022 and 2023), affecting almost 3,000 workers. This means these workers suddenly lost their right to stay, work, and live in the UK under their current visa.
For each of these workers, the Home Office sends a letter: you have 60 days to find another licensed employer willing to sponsor you, or you must leave the country. If you don’t go, you risk prosecution or forced deportation. This short timeframe, coupled with the pressure and uncertainty, leaves many in truly difficult situations.
How The Sponsorship License Crisis Hurts Migrant Care Workers
Losing a sponsorship license hurts in many ways. First, these workers have usually already spent thousands of pounds to get to the UK. This money often covers visa costs, flights, recruiter fees, and sometimes large “introduction fees” paid to agents in their home country. Once they lose their job, much of this money is lost.
Even finding a new sponsoring employer is far from easy. Many workers, like Zainab and Ismail from India 🇮🇳 , describe applying to hundreds of care providers but hearing nothing back. Sometimes, recruiters ask for more money—up to £10,000—just for a job offer and fresh sponsorship. For most, this is impossible to pay. As a result, out-of-work care workers often find themselves out of money, stuck in limbo, and afraid of what comes next.
The choice is stark: find another sponsor, leave the country at great personal and financial loss, or stay without legal permission and face prosecution or deportation.
Exploitation Made Worse By The Visa System
The current system makes migrant care workers even more vulnerable. Because work visas are tied to a specific employer’s sponsorship license, quitting or getting fired means losing the right to stay in the UK. For most of these workers, there’s no access to state benefits or a safety net while job hunting. If they report poor or illegal treatment, they risk losing work—and with no job, they risk deportation.
Since the Home Support worker scheme began in 2022, reports of exploitation have soared. One migration specialist called the care sector “a complete wild west,” with some employers and recruiters demanding huge fees and subjecting staff to unfair conditions. Workers say they often have to accept long hours for very low pay just to keep their visa status. Fear keeps many from speaking up about abuses, worrying they’ll be left with nothing if their employment ends.
Care workers can also struggle to adapt, especially when moving from countries like India 🇮🇳 or Nigeria 🇳🇬 where rights and systems differ. The power imbalance means many workers do as told—even if it’s unfair—out of fear of deportation and the huge loss that would bring.
What Happens When Sponsorship Is Revoked?
When the Home Office revokes a care company’s sponsorship license—usually for breaking the rules—it becomes a crisis for all their sponsored workers. The process is harsh and quick: workers get a letter with a 60-day deadline. They must either find a new employer who holds a valid sponsorship license, or make plans to leave.
Some try desperately to get a new job, but reliable work is hard to find. Licensed sponsors are often few and receive too many applications. Unscrupulous agents may promise sponsorship in exchange for more money. And, as VisaVerge.com explains, if a worker fails to leave after their 60-day period, the consequences can be serious—ranging from prosecution, detention, to forced removal from the country.
In effect, the loss of an employer’s sponsorship license doesn’t just punish the business—it can uproot the lives of dozens or even hundreds of workers overnight.
Challenging Deportation: Limited Options, Complicated Process
It’s not all over once someone receives notice that they may be deported. People do have the right to challenge a deportation decision, though the process is complex. First, the Home Office must issue a written notice explaining the reasons for deportation. Workers can respond to this, providing reasons why they think they should be allowed to stay. This might include ties to family, length of time in the UK, health issues, or fears for their safety if returned to their home country.
Having an immigration specialist is highly recommended. These professionals can help build a strong case, especially if the worker might have a human rights or asylum claim. Common grounds to challenge deportation include:
- Proving strong ties to family or work in the UK
- Showing that leaving would harm children who are already settled in the UK
- Explaining unique needs, disabilities, or reasons why returning home would place them at risk
- Listing any community ties that show good integration into UK life
Not everyone will be able to appeal. In some cases, the Home Office may certify claims as “clearly unfounded,” removing the right to an in-country appeal. However, workers can often challenge the decision if their case is based on human rights, international protection (asylum), or relates to the loss of refugee status or the EU Settled Status scheme after January 2020.
Winning an appeal is not easy. The worker needs to show “compelling circumstances,” such as a very low risk of causing harm if allowed to stay, a long history in the UK, or strong, important connections that would be disrupted by deportation (for example, if they have children in school or a spouse who depends on them).
For more detailed information on challenging deportation decisions, workers and supporters can visit the official Citizens Advice deportation guide.
Exploitation and Gaps in Protection
Care workers stuck waiting for new sponsorship or an appeal outcome have almost no safety net. They are not allowed to work in other jobs, receive public funds, or access most health care. This can quickly lead to debt, homelessness, and even health crises if their applications drag on.
Because their right to stay is tied only to their job, many endure months of uncertainty, living in fear. Reports have shown that since the Home Support worker scheme launched, the number of workers reporting exploitation has increased sharply. These problems hurt not just the workers, but also their families—often both in the UK and in their home countries, who depend on money sent back.
The sector’s watchdog—England’s Care Quality Commission (CQC)—is supposed to help prevent rogue employers from recruiting migrant workers. New rules require all care providers to be regulated by the CQC before they can sponsor workers. However, critics have said the CQC is “massively overstretched” with not enough resources to inspect every provider. As a result, some abusive employers slip through the cracks, even under this more strict system.
The Wider Impact: A Broken System?
The Home Support worker scheme was intended to solve deep problems in the care sector. But when businesses lose their sponsorship licenses, the workers (rather than company owners) bear the worst consequences. The pressure on workers grows as they try to balance financial burdens and family needs with a system that offers little protection once things go wrong.
Many in the sector are calling for reform. They want better protection for workers, more transparency over why sponsorship licenses are revoked, and stricter enforcement against companies that exploit staff. At the same time, the sector must find ways to fill urgent staffing gaps—something that becomes much harder if potential workers see the risks as too high.
Facing the Future: Key Questions and Possible Solutions
The situation with the Home Support worker scheme raises some difficult questions. How can a system built to help, not hurt, turn into one that leaves workers so vulnerable? Here are some of the main points under discussion:
- Should migrant care workers have more time to find new jobs if their employer loses a sponsorship license?
- Is it fair that workers who played by the rules are forced out, while bad employers may receive only a fine or ban from future sponsorship?
- What steps can the UK 🇬🇧 government take to stop abuses without harming the care sector’s ability to recruit from overseas?
- Can better checks and a stronger CQC make enough difference, or are deeper reforms needed to address exploitation?
Workers, support groups, charities, and some members of Parliament are pressing for longer grace periods, more robust inspections, and improved help for migrants facing sudden unemployment. Companies caught acting illegally should face strong penalties—but there must also be help for the workers left behind. Otherwise, more may be driven underground or out of the country, deepening shortages in a care industry already stretched to its limits.
What Should Care Workers Do If A Problem Arises?
If you—or someone you know—is affected by a revoked sponsorship license, immediate action is important. First, keep copies of every official letter or document received. Get in touch with an immigration adviser as soon as possible. Professional help increases the chances of building a successful case, especially if there are family or other compelling reasons to stay in the UK.
Government websites offer official advice about deportation and appeal rights. Reading these resources can help you understand your next steps and what evidence you may need.
In every case, avoid paying large fees to unofficial agents or recruiters who “promise” sponsorship in exchange for money—many of these offers are scams, leaving workers even worse off. Use the Home Office’s official sponsorship license list to find licensed employers.
Summary and Next Steps
The crisis surrounding the Home Support worker scheme is a warning to workers, employers, and policymakers. It shows how quickly things can unravel if rules are not clear and enforcement does not protect those most at risk. Thousands of care workers now face the threat of abrupt, life-changing deportation, sometimes after being pushed to the edge by abusive recruitment practices.
If you work in the UK 🇬🇧 care sector under this or a similar scheme, staying informed and prepared is essential. Seek advice quickly, monitor your employer’s licensing status, and know your rights when it comes to challenging deportation. Watch for policy changes, as pressure grows for the government to improve the system and prevent further harm to vulnerable migrant workers.
For more official information, visit the UK government’s deportation guidance page.
As reported by VisaVerge.com, the questions now facing the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 include not just how to solve staff shortages, but how to do so fairly—protecting those who care for the country’s most vulnerable people, rather than putting them at risk of hardship, exploitation, or deportation.
Learn Today
Sponsorship License → An official permit issued by the UK government allowing employers to hire and sponsor overseas workers under specific visa programs.
Home Support Worker Scheme → A UK visa program enabling care sector employers to sponsor foreign workers to address staff shortages in elderly care.
Deportation → The formal removal of a foreign individual from the UK, often following a breach of immigration laws or visa terms.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) → The regulatory body in England responsible for inspecting and licensing health and social care providers, including care homes.
Introduction Fees → Large payments sometimes required by recruitment agents or employers for arranging overseas job placement and sponsorship, often controversial.
This Article in a Nutshell
Migrant care workers in the UK face heightened uncertainty as employers’ sponsorship licenses are suddenly revoked. With just 60 days to secure new sponsorship, many risk deportation, financial loss, and exploitation. Calls grow for reform to protect vulnerable workers and ensure a fair, transparent system benefiting all stakeholders involved.
— By VisaVerge.com
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