New immigration rules for persons working in the care sector have come into effect, including a ban on overseas care workers bringing dependant family members to the UK. The new visa regulations that have gone into effect will prevent foreign care workers from entering the UK with dependent family members.
Effective March 11, the UK bars migrant care workers from bringing their partners and children into the country. The care worker visa will no longer allow applicants to bring their dependents with them, therefore, limiting the number of applicants to single individuals or those prepared to leave their dependents behind.
In addition to stopping overseas care workers from bringing family dependants, the social care firms in England
Approximately 120,000 dependants accompanied 100,000 care workers and senior care workers in the year ending September 2023. Only 25% of dependants are estimated to be in work, which means that a significant number are drawing on public services rather than helping to grow the economy
These changes come into force as the government is set to lay rules in Parliament later this week (14 March) to prevent the continued undercutting of British workers, which includes raising the salary threshold that a skilled worker must meet to get a visa and removing the 20% ‘going-rate’ discount for migrant workers in shortage occupations.
The UK government is taking several steps to reduce the net migration rate in the country. From January 2024, the right for international students to bring dependants has been removed unless they are on postgraduate courses designated as research programs.
The UK has also stopped international students from switching out of the student route into work routes before their studies have been completed. These changes will have a tangible impact on net migration; around 153,000 visas were granted to dependants of sponsored students in the year ending September 2023.
The Home Secretary has also commissioned a review of the graduate route for international students by asking the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to ensure that demand for the graduate route is fit for purpose and focused on attracting the best and brightest to the UK.
This follows concerns raised after analysis by the MAC revealed that the number of international postgraduate students attending institutions with the lowest UCAS entry requirements has increased by over 250% between 2018 and 2022.
