The policy shift will be outlined in the government’s new Immigration White Paper to be presented to Parliament on Monday, May 12.
The United Kingdom government will end international recruitment of care workers as part of sweeping immigration reforms aimed at reducing net migration and addressing widespread exploitation in the sector, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced Sunday.
The policy shift will be outlined in the government’s new Immigration White Paper to be presented to Parliament on Monday, May 12.
According to a statement on the official government website, the change follows alarming revelations of abuse and debt bondage suffered by thousands of migrant care workers recruited from overseas.
“Care workers from overseas have made a huge contribution to social care in the UK, but too many have been subject to shameful levels of abuse and exploitation,” the Home Office said. In some instances, migrant workers arrived in the UK to discover that the promised jobs did not exist or were forced into unfair and exploitative working conditions.
Since 2022, the government has suspended the licence of over 470 care providers found to have violated sponsorship conditions.
The crackdown has displaced around 40,000 care workers, many of whom, the Home Office said, will now be supported to re-enter the workforce under legal and fair employment terms.
While new international recruitment will be halted, current migrant care workers with legal sponsorship will be allowed to remain. They may extend their stay, change sponsors, or apply for settlement — including those affected by the revocation of their sponsor’s licence.
The decision marks a major shift in UK social care staffing policy. It aims to reduce reliance on migrant labour and prioritise domestic workforce development.
The government said long-term efforts will focus on training homegrown talent for roles in the adult social care sector.
As part of this shift, ministers have pledged to establish Fair Pay Agreements that will bring together workers, employers, and sector representatives to negotiate better employment conditions. This complements the January expansion of the Care Workforce Pathway, designed to professionalise the care workforce in the UK.
Baroness Louise Casey has also begun work on a landmark independent commission into adult social care, which the government described as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to build cross-party consensus on the future of the sector.
The Immigration White Paper is expected to outline further measures to tighten border controls, reduce migration numbers, and promote fairness within the system — key goals of the Labour government’s immigration strategy.
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