Care workers warn 2025 UK visa changes tear families apart

(UNITED KINGDOM) The UK government will shut the door to most new overseas recruitment of care workers next summer, with new visa rule changes set to take effect on 22 July 2025. The Home Office will close new sponsorship under the Health and Care Worker visa for care worker roles, raise the skill and salary thresholds, and stop new dependants from joining many care workers during a three‑year transition. Ministers say the plan aims to reduce net migration and “focus on higher‑skilled roles,” while providers warn the policy will deepen staff shortages and separate families already stretched by long shifts and low pay.

Under the policy, new Certificates of Sponsorship for care workers (Standard Occupational Classification codes 6135 and 6136) will no longer be assigned for overseas hires after 22 July 2025. Employers will still be able to issue sponsorship only to staff already on their UK payroll for at least three months, and only for in‑country extensions or switching, not for new arrivals.

The minimum skill requirement rises from RQF Level 3 (A‑level) to RQF Level 6 (graduate level). With that shift, most care worker roles will fall outside Skilled Worker eligibility unless placed on a temporary shortage or salary list.

Salary rules are also tightening. Transitional sponsorship for care workers will require at least £25,000 per year, while the wider Skilled Worker threshold climbs to £41,700. During the 2025–2028 transition, no new dependants can join care workers under these routes. Families already granted leave can keep it, but new applications from spouses and children will be blocked.

Campaigners say the change is already “tearing families apart,” with frontline staff reporting months‑long separations and missed life events, including during medical emergencies.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the combined effect of the skill uplift, salary floor, and dependant ban will sharply reduce the number of international care workers able to qualify for sponsorship. The site reports employers are preparing to limit offers to in‑country staff only and to rework rotas as vacancies go unfilled. Providers fear a new wave of care home bed closures if recruitment pipelines snap shut.

Policy changes — at a glance

• New sponsorship closed for SOC 6135/6136 from 22 July 2025
  Employers cannot assign new Certificates of Sponsorship for overseas entry. Only staff already employed and on payroll for at least three months can receive sponsorship for in‑country extension or switching.

• Skill threshold raised to RQF Level 6
  This graduate‑level bar places most care worker roles outside standard Skilled Worker eligibility unless later listed for shortage relief.

• Higher pay floors

  • Transitional care roles: £25,000 minimum per year.
  • General Skilled Worker minimum: £41,700 per year.
• No new dependants for care workers during 2025–2028
  Spouses and children cannot apply to join care workers under the transition, though existing dependant leave remains valid.

• English language plans signalled
  Ministers have flagged an intention to raise the requirement to CEFR B2, but no start date has been announced.

The Home Office frames these steps as part of a broader effort to cut net migration, steer visas toward higher‑paid jobs, and encourage employers to recruit locally. Social care leaders counter that the domestic pipeline cannot meet current demand.

Impact on applicants and employers

For care workers already in the UK, the rules draw a hard line between continuing a job and bringing family. Workers can extend or switch under sponsorship if they meet the transitional rules, but they cannot bring in new dependants between 2025 and 2028.

That leaves many with a stark choice: keep the job that pays the bills, or leave to reunite with family abroad. One frontline carer described staying on night shifts while her husband remained overseas during a health crisis, saying she felt powerless to help because she could not meet the new income and visa demands. Similar stories have spread through support groups as families try to decide whether to split or return together.

Employers face legal and planning challenges:

• To extend sponsorship, employers must confirm the worker has been on payroll for at least three months and meets the new salary floor.
• Sponsors will still need to assign a valid Certificate of Sponsorship via the Sponsorship Management System.
• Official guidance on CoS requirements, allocations, and job codes remains available on the government website. For background on the visa route, the government’s Health and Care Worker visa page sets out core route rules and eligibility.

The shift to RQF Level 6 creates a structural barrier for routine care roles. Most personal care duties—support with daily living in homes and care homes—do not match graduate‑level skill statements. Unless the government later lists care roles for special treatment, sponsors will struggle to map typical duties to the new threshold without risking compliance action.

Recruiters say they will attempt to keep experienced staff already in the UK, but that is only a partial fix. Without new arrivals, the pipeline dries up as natural attrition continues. Local authorities warn that fewer carers mean:

• Longer waiting lists for home visits
• Delayed hospital discharge
• Rising pressure on the NHS

Families will shoulder more unpaid care, often at the cost of their own jobs.

The government argues the salary lift will push providers to pay more and attract resident workers. Providers reply that funding rates set by councils leave little room to raise wages to the new floors, especially in rural areas and lower‑income regions. Some plan to:

• Limit admissions
• Prioritise higher‑fee private clients
• Close units that cannot be staffed or sustained

Practical steps and timing

For those still eligible, timing matters. Employers aiming to extend sponsorship for staff on their payroll should plan early:

1. Confirm staff have been on payroll for at least three months.
2. Ensure contracts meet the £25,000 transitional floor.
3. Check job coding against SOC 6135/6136 and plan CoS assignment.
4. File in‑country applications before the July 2025 deadline where possible.

Workers who hope to change roles inside the UK should speak with their sponsor about contract changes before July 2025, so there is time to assign a CoS and file an in‑country application. Families should note the dependant ban during the transition and consider the impact on school terms, caregiving plans, and housing.

Proposals, responses and the political debate

Worker groups and care managers are pressing ministers to:

• Offer a family route for long‑serving staff
• Create a targeted exemption tied to proven vacancies and safe staffing
• Adopt a staged approach: keep the entry route open where local vacancy rates breach set thresholds, or allow dependants where the sponsor commits to a higher wage and stable hours

In Parliament, supporters argue the policy aligns with economic aims to raise wages and reduce reliance on migration. Critics counter that it trades short‑term political goals for long‑term damage to social care. The debate will intensify as the July 2025 start date approaches and employers decide whether to restructure or exit the market.

Care workers, unions, and providers agree on one point: the next 12 months are critical. Without a workable path for hiring and family life, the sector risks losing both new and experienced staff. For families already split by distance, the promise of stability feels further away, even as the need for care at home keeps growing.