The United Kingdom is set to end the recruitment of care workers from abroad as part of a sweeping crackdown on immigration, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Cooper revealed that care worker visas will be scrapped later this year, compelling employers in the sector to prioritize hiring UK residents or extend the stay of foreign staff already in the country.
The move comes ahead of new immigration policy changes expected to be unveiled on Monday. Government sources say the upcoming reforms aim to curb net migration significantly, with projections suggesting a reduction of up to 50,000 care and lower-skilled workers entering the UK over the next 12 months.
“This is the moment to bring overseas recruitment in the care sector to a close,” Cooper said, noting that the reforms will focus on promoting local employment rather than relying on international labour.
While the Home Office has yet to release the full contents of its long-awaited immigration White Paper, Cooper indicated that the broader plan includes raising the threshold for skilled worker visas from A-level to graduate-level qualifications. In addition, the list of industries eligible for temporary visa exemptions will be tightened.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticised the measures, calling them insufficient and renewing calls for a fixed annual cap on migration.
Net migration has remained a politically sensitive issue in the UK, with figures peaking at 906,000 in the year to June 2023 before dropping to 728,000. Despite repeated pledges by previous administrations to reduce the numbers, efforts have so far failed to produce lasting results.
Cooper said while the government is pursuing a “substantial reduction” in migration, it will not commit to specific numerical targets, arguing that past targets have damaged the credibility of migration policies.
