Key Takeaways
• Health and Care Worker visas rose 76% in 2023 to 71,046, then dropped by 81% in 2024.
• New rules include tougher employer checks, limits on dependants, and a 48% higher salary threshold.
• Care worker visa route announced to close in 2025, cutting 50,000 low-skilled migrant positions.
In recent years, the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 has seen major changes in the number of UK visas granted to foreign care workers. These changes are tied closely to new policies, increased checks by the government, changes in salary rules, and a strong focus on reducing exploitation in the care sector. This analysis draws only from official government reports and well-known news sources to provide a clear view of what’s been happening, why, and what this means for care workers, employers, and UK immigration trends as a whole.
Summary of Key Findings
The number of UK visas given to foreign care workers—especially through the Health and Care Worker visas—rose sharply between 2022 and 2023 but then dropped just as dramatically in 2024 and 2025. The reasons for this drop are stricter government checks, new rules making it harder to bring family members, higher minimum pay for sponsored jobs, and plans to stop the care worker visa route altogether. These moves have created new challenges for care providers trying to hire staff as well as for foreign care workers wishing to work in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧.
Understanding the Surge and Sudden Decline
The Surge: 2022–2023
In the 2022–2023 period, UK visas issued to foreign care workers hit record levels. In fact, 71,046 work visas were granted to care workers and home carers in 2023–24. This marked a 76% increase compared to just 40,333 the year before. This growth was mainly due to the high need for workers in health and social care, coupled with relaxed rules put in place by the UK government to fill gaps during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Main applicants for Health and Care Worker visas saw a sharp rise at this time, and many brought family members with them. These rising numbers created a large new group of foreign workers and dependants in the care sector.
The Decline: 2024–2025
However, this growth did not last. By 2024, the number of Health and Care Worker visas granted to main applicants had fallen by 81% from its 2023 peak. Where there had once been tens of thousands of approvals, only 27,000 such visas were granted in 2024. The fall continued into the first quarter of 2025, with monthly application numbers slipping to about 1,700 by March and April, according to official Home Office statistics (source).
The steepest drop was seen when counting both main workers and their dependants. Total applications from overseas health and care workers and their families dropped 78%, plummeting from 359,300 in 2023/24 to just 80,700 in 2024/25.
Visual Representation Description:
– Imagine a bar chart showing the total number of Health and Care Worker visas issued each year from 2022 through 2025. Bars would rise steadily from 2022 to a peak in 2023, then drop sharply in 2024 and flatten out at a much lower level by 2025.
– A second line graph would show monthly applications for these visas holding steady through late 2023, then falling quickly through early 2024 and reaching very low levels (about 1,700 per month) by March and April 2025.
These graphics would show not just the scale of the rise and fall, but how fast the changes took place—helping readers see why this situation has caught so much attention.
What Caused the Drop in Care Worker Visas?
Multiple changes explain the fall in UK visas for foreign care workers, but each is linked to a wider government approach stressing control, compliance, and higher skill and pay thresholds.
1. Increased Scrutiny and Compliance Checks
Starting in late 2023, the Home Office began to look much more closely at employers in health and social care. This meant tougher checks on companies, more visits, and stronger moves against those not meeting their duties regarding migrant workers (source). These actions aimed to stop abuses, such as fake job offers and underpaying workers, especially after it was found that many care workers had arrived for jobs that did not exist.
2. New Policy Restrictions on Dependants
The government, led by the Conservative Party at the time, passed rules in 2024 making it harder for Health and Care Worker visa holders to bring family members (dependants) with them to the United Kingdom 🇬🇧. Prior to this, many new workers had entered the country with spouses, children, and other family members. The new rules limited this, aiming to reduce overall migration numbers and discourage potential abuse of the visa system.
3. Raised Skilled Worker Salary Threshold
In another key move, officials raised the minimum salary required for a Skilled Worker visa by 48%, taking it up to £38,700. Since care jobs often pay less than this new minimum, this change has made it much harder for providers to sponsor new foreign workers (source). For care homes and domiciliary care agencies, this effectively locked out many foreign candidates from legal work in the UK.
4. Announced Closure of the Care Worker Visa Route
On May 11, 2025, the Home Secretary made a major policy statement: the care worker visa route would soon be closed as part of stricter efforts to bring overall net migration down (source). The target is a cut of about 50,000 low-skilled foreign workers in the current year, with care and home care roles squarely aimed at.
The Home Secretary explained, “Care companies should recruit from a pool of approximately 10,000 people who came to the UK on care worker visas for jobs that didn’t exist, noting these workers ‘came in good faith but there were no proper checks, they were badly exploited.'”
The Human Impact: What This Means for the UK Care Sector
Ongoing Recruitment Challenges
The UK care sector has always struggled to hire enough staff, especially because care jobs are hard, pay is low, and working conditions are often poor (source). Many providers turned to overseas recruitment as a way to keep up, given the lack of British applicants.
The changes to UK visas and Health and Care Worker visas have made this much harder. Workers from outside the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 now face much steeper barriers. This could mean fewer hands available for looking after the country’s growing older population and people with support needs.
Push to Curb Exploitation
One reason officials give for these strict rules is the high number of foreign care workers left open to mistreatment. Reports from the Home Office found that some people arrived on Health and Care Worker visas only to find no real job waiting for them, or to face long hours and very low pay. Government statements suggest the clampdown is meant to stop such harm, even if it shrinks the pool of available workers.
Industry Response
Not all in the sector agree with these moves, however. The National Care Association called the current situation a “scandal of the Home Office’s own making.” According to them, providers want to hire UK nationals for care work—but low local funding means it’s hard to raise wages, making foreign care workers essential for filling widespread vacancies.
Industry voices have warned that unless the government provides extra funding to boost pay and training for local workers, staffing shortages could get worse. This tension shows the complex trade-off between the government’s wish to control immigration and the real needs of care providers and those they look after.
Statistical Analysis: Breaking Down the Numbers
- 2022/23: 40,333 care worker and home carer visas granted
- 2023/24: 71,046 care worker and home carer visas granted (up 76%)
- 2023 (main applicants): Health and Care Worker visas peaked
- 2024 (main applicants): 27,000 grants (down 81% year-on-year)
- 2025: Roughly 1,700 Health and Care Worker visa applications each month in March and April
- 2023/24 (with dependants): 359,300 total applications
- 2024/25 (with dependants): 80,700 total applications (down 78%)
Visual Representation Description:
– The jump from 40,333 to 71,046 visas in one year could be shown with a tall upward-moving bar on a chart.
– The sudden drop to just 27,000 the next year could be pictured with a steep downward arrow, highlighting the dramatic shift.
– Monthly data shown as a line graph would illustrate the quick plummet in applications after stricter rules and salary changes, settling at a much lower base by early 2025.
The data spell out not just a drop, but a total change in policy approach. After opening the door to address immediate needs, the UK government 🇬🇧 has now moved decisively toward tightening work-based visas in the care sector.
What Do These Numbers Mean? Implications for Immigration Policy
Tightened Migration Policy
It’s clear the current approach marks one of the strictest in UK immigration history, at least for low-paid roles such as care workers. The government aims to cut legal migration, especially from those viewed as low-skilled, by setting higher salary floors and limiting chances for families to come together.
Likely Effects on Workforce and Service Users
As more UK visas are refused or not applied for, care homes and service providers may face even more staffing challenges. This could hurt care for older people and those with disabilities, at least until pay and conditions for domestic workers improve. If rules stay strict, agencies may struggle to meet basic staffing requirements for safe care.
Concerns About Exploitation and Regulation
While the official goal is to reduce exploitation, quick policy changes and broad shut-downs can sometimes make foreign workers more vulnerable, not less, especially if they lose legal status. The real test will be whether the government can both protect workers and support the needs of the care system at the same time.
Data Limitations and Context
The figures quoted come from public sources, government statistics, and trustworthy news platforms such as Migration Observatory, Smith Stone Walters, and the official Home Office website. While visa numbers are clear, data on pay, exploitation, and local recruitment challenges are still being gathered and can change as policies are put into practice.
Changes in the law, such as raising the salary threshold or closing entire visa routes, take time to filter through the system. Some policies, like tighter checks on employers, may catch problems early but can also affect honest providers and workers who follow the rules.
Methodology
This analysis uses official statistics from the UK Home Office monthly and annual reports, public statements from government ministers, and published data from respected immigration research centers. All claims are based solely on the factual content provided, with no outside speculation or opinion. Where forms or applications are referenced, they come from UK government websites covering Health and Care Worker visas.
Conclusion and Future Trends
The recent changes to UK visas for foreign care workers, especially around the Health and Care Worker route, mark a turning point. After a period of rapid growth in overseas recruitment, the government has taken strong steps to tighten up the process—raising salary requirements, limiting family arrivals, and announcing a full closure of the care worker route. The drop in both visa applications and approvals has been steep and fast.
For foreign care workers, it is now much more difficult to enter or remain in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧. Care providers face the challenge of finding enough skilled staff, while trying to avoid illegal practices and meet stricter compliance checks.
As reported by VisaVerge.com, the situation creates both new risks and new questions for the future: Will tight controls and reduced migration numbers lead to better working conditions for local staff, or will they simply add to staff shortages? Can UK care agencies find enough workers at the new, higher pay expected, or will more home-grown problems emerge as the population ages?
One thing is certain: the story of UK visas for foreign care workers is still ongoing, and policymakers, employers, and applicants alike will be watching this space closely over the coming years. For further information on current visa requirements, readers can refer to the official UK Health and Care Worker visa page.
By staying informed and following changes in the law, both workers and employers will be better prepared to meet the new demands placed by the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 immigration system.
Learn Today
Health and Care Worker visa → A UK visa route for foreign nationals to work in health or social care sectors, often allowing family dependants.
Main applicant → The individual who directly applies for a visa, as opposed to dependants included on their application.
Minimum salary threshold → The required minimum salary an employer must pay to sponsor a worker’s Skilled Worker visa application.
Dependants → Family members, such as spouses or children, who can accompany or join a main visa applicant in the UK.
Home Office → The UK government department responsible for immigration, security, and law and order, including issuing visas.
This Article in a Nutshell
The UK’s care sector faces major upheaval due to drastic visa policy changes. Sharp rises in foreign worker recruitment were reversed by new salary thresholds, dependants restrictions, and route closure plans. These moves create staff shortages and uncertainty for care providers, workers, and the future of UK immigration trends.
— By VisaVerge.com
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