Information for International Recruits and Sponsored Workers

The Immigration Rules changed on the 22 July 2025. Care employers can no longer recruit careworkers or senior careworkers from other countries.

If you are already in the UK but on a different visa route, you may be able to switch to being a sponsored careworker. However, if you are not already a careworker, you would need to work legally for a care employer for three months before they would be able to sponsor you (this might apply, for example, to international students who work part time as careworkers while studying). 

If you are an existing careworker in the UK, see the section below on changing jobs.

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). 

Justice & Care and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority have produced a video explaining key workers rights that you can find here:

English / Hindi / Malayalam / Tamil

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 switching into the skilled worker route from other visa routes in 2028. 

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).
• 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, but we aren't sure how long it will be before they will be able to settle.

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.