Information for International Recruits and Sponsored Workers

The UK Government has said that they plan to stop visas for new careworkers to come into the country from 22 July 2025 (careworkers who are here legally before 22 July 2025 will be able to continue working and change job). 

The Homecare Association does not employ careworkers or nurses ourselves. Our members are care employers and may consider your CV if you want to contact them yourself. You can also find information about working in social care in the UK on the Made with Care website. 

Working in care in the UK can be a wonderful experience. Lots of people enjoy their time here. Please be careful though: some people offering jobs in the UK are trying to take advantage of you. Please read this information so you can think through applying and know how to stay safe: 

Applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad 

In particular, if you are looking for a job: 

• Get a contract describing the salary, hours, work location and any repayment clauses. 
• If you are not paid, are being asked to pay lots of money to your company or recruiter, are working long hours or have no time off get advice. This is not normal. 
• If a job looks too good to be true, don’t apply. 
• Never pay money to an agency to find you work in the UK, you might have some costs, like flights, but they should find you a job for free. 
• Don’t let anyone force you to sign a document that you don’t want to. 
• Your recruiter or employer should not threaten to deport you. If this happens, get advice. 

You have rights at work in the UK. These include rights to pay, rights about your working hours and your treatment at work.  

There is information on your rights here: 

• Workers’ Rights (or in other languages here: Workers' Rights).
• Justice & Care have an information leaflet.
• The UK Government advice also covers rights: Applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad. 

You can get advice about rights at work from the Advisory and Conciliation Service (ACAS) 

If you are a member of a trade union, then your union will also be able to give you advice. 

If you want advice on your visa situation, you could contact the Home Office for advice. You could also try Citizen’s Advice, which is free, or find an immigration adviser here (you may have to pay for this). 

We understand that many careworkers are concerned that the UK Government has said they will increase the settlement period from five to ten years. They also plan to end new visa sponsorship for careworkers in 2028. This made it unclear whether existing care staff would be able to stay in the UK and settle or not. We raised this issue with the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Department of Health and Social Care have told us that:

• There will be a transition period until 2028 (to be kept under review), where employers can recruit from different visa routes when those people are in the UK (like students or graduates).
• International workers who are already sponsored to work legally in the sector by the end of the transition period (i.e. 2028) will be able to continue to extend their stay, change sponsors and apply to settle, subject to the settlement rules in place at the time. These arrangements include those who need to switch employers following a sponsor licence revocation. 
• On settlement, the Home Office will consult on the details of the policy later this year. This will include looking at when people will need to be in the UK for ten years to settle and when people can reduce that amount of time to five years. This consultation will be a good opportunity for you to let the Government know how you feel about this issue.

This means that existing care staff who are employed legally should be able to stay.

See further information from Citizen’s Advice here. 

Everyone’s visa situation is slightly different, but most careworkers with a Health and Care Visa can change to a new careworker role with a new employer, provided that the new employer is able to sponsor you. If you move job, you would need to update your Health and Care Visa.  

If you have repayment clauses in your original contract, your employer might ask you to repay money when you leave. You can find out some more about that here. You could also ask for advice about it.  

If you lose your job, the Home Office usually send you a notification that you have 60 days to find an alternative job. 

You can apply directly for jobs with care employers in your area. 

You can also look for jobs in many places online and here: 

• Find a job in Adult Social Care (not all of these employers will be able to offer sponsorship, but some will).
• Borderless.
• Lifted Talent. 

If you have lost your job then Citizen’s Advice have a page offering information here. 

Local authorities should also be able to help you if your employer's sponsorship license is revoked. There is information about that in this leaflet: 

• Support offer to international ASC workers whose employer's sponsor licence has been revoked 

If you are a trade union member, support may also be available from your union.  

If you are working on a Health and Care Visa then you can take on supplementary work, but there are rules around that here:  

Health and Care Worker visa: Taking on additional work 

When your new employer is recruiting you, they may need to ask your sponsoring employer for evidence that they are sponsoring you and you are working enough hours in your first job so that your new employer can employ you legally. If they can’t get this evidence, they may not be able to offer you work. 

If your first employer is not giving you enough hours of work, this may be a problem for you when looking for a second job. If you are experiencing these issues, please seek advice and support to move jobs. 

You could contact Citizen’s Advice. There is a Modern Slavery and exploitation helpline that is free and confidential. It is available on 08000 121 700 and you can also report concerns online at www.modernslaveryhelpline.org. You could also try contacting your local authority about finding a new job. 

You can find information from Citizen’s Advice here. This covers a range of situations you could face from not being paid the right wages to finding a new job.  

There is a Modern Slavery and exploitation helpline that is free and confidential. It is available on 08000 121 700 and you can also report concerns online at www.modernslaveryhelpline.org 

Other sources of advice and places to raise concerns include: 

• The police – call them if you are concerned about criminal activity or there is immediate danger. It is also possible to raise concerns about criminal activity anonymously via Crime Stoppers.
• If you believe your employer or another employer is not complying with their sponsorship obligations or is employing people illegally you can contact the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement hotline: 0300 123 7000; UK Visas and Immigration contact centre 0300 790 6268). 
• If you are worried about the safety of the people you support then contact the local safeguarding team at the Local Authority and the Care Quality Commission.  
• The Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority investigate labour exploitation and you can contact them via their website, by calling 0800 432 0804; or emailing [email protected].
• If you are being paid less than the minimum wage (£12.21 per hour in 2025/26) you can report that here: National Minimum Wage enquiries and complaints - GOV.UK.
• You can report Immigration Fraud to Action Fraud 
• If you want advice on your employment situation you can contact the Advisory and Conciliation Service (ACAS).
• If you feel you have been discriminated against (whether at work or outside of work) you can contact the Equality Advisory Support Service.