LONDON: The UK government has announced an immediate ban on international recruitment for social care roles, alongside major restrictions on what it calls low-skilled migration, emphasizing a new principle: skilled must mean skilled.
This decisive move is outlined in an 82-page policy document titled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, described as the most comprehensive reset of Britain’s immigration framework in a generation.
According to the Home Office, we will close social care visas to new overseas applications, citing concerns over abuse and unsustainable dependency. “This route has been exploited and overused in ways that damage public confidence and do not support long-term workforce sustainability.
Effective immediately, new overseas applications for social care roles are no longer permitted. Existing foreign care workers already in the UK may continue under current visas, but can only extend or switch them until 2028. The government plans to replace this system with a new domestic workforce strategy.
Read also:
- Trump Vows to End Birthright Citizenship and Deport Undocumented Immigrants in Bold Post-Election Remarks
- The Bahamas Rejects Trump’s Proposal to Accept Deported Migrants
- Trump Begins Mass Deportation of Nigerians and Other Undocumented Immigrants. In 2025, The White Paper stresses the need for a shift away from dependence on low-paid foreign workers. “The health and social care sector must move away from reliance on low-wage overseas recruitment. We will instead support long-term workforce planning and training within the UK.
Central to the reform is a stricter definition of “skilled work” under the UK’s points-based UK Visas and Immigration system . The government will raise thresholds for salary, qualifications, and English proficiency across most visa routes.
We are tightening the definition of skilled work; skilled must mean skilled, the paper states. “Jobs that do not meet this standard will not qualify for visas, regardless of sector.
Also, the Immigration Salary List, which previously allowed employers to pay migrant workers below standard salary levels, will be abolished. “This change will prevent wage undercutting and ensure migration supports, rather than undermines, the UK labour market.
Under the new rules, employers must now prove they have made serious efforts to recruit domestically before seeking overseas staff, particularly in sectors with a history of reliance on migrant labour.
No employer should be allowed to default to migration, the Home Office warned. “We are rebalancing the system to reward investment in local talent.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the reforms as “a bold, necessary reset, aimed at restoring public trust in the immigration system.
We are acting to bring numbers down and restore control, she said. Immigration should not be a substitute for skills planning.
The White Paper adopts a firm stance throughout, stating, We will not allow temporary migration routes to become permanent. These reforms will restore integrity to the system and ensure that immigration works for Britain, not the other way around.”
