Post-study work rights will be reduced to 18 months, down from the previous two years.
The UK government has announced it will end overseas recruitment for social care visas, marking a significant shift in immigration policy aimed at reducing dependency on foreign workers and boosting domestic training.
Outlined in an 82-page White Paper titled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, the policy forms part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s broader strategy to reduce net migration and strengthen border control.
“In line with our wider reforms to skills thresholds, we will close social care visas to new applications from abroad,” the Home Office said in a statement published Monday, May 12.
The move comes as net migration figures have quadrupled between 2019 and 2023, prompting what officials describe as a necessary reshaping of the system.
While new overseas applications for social care roles will cease immediately, the government has introduced a transition period until 2028, when current visa holders can apply for extensions or switch visa categories within the UK.
However, officials emphasised this will be “kept under review.” The reforms target long-standing criticisms that employers have relied excessively on international labour at the expense of training the domestic workforce.
“New requirements on employers to boost domestic training will end the reliance on international recruitment,” the Home Office said, adding that the system must serve those who “contribute most to economic growth.”
A central change includes raising the skilled worker level to RQF 6 (graduate level) and abolishing the immigration salary list, which previously allowed employers to offer lower wages for shortage occupations.
Only roles with long-term shortages and approved workforce strategies will be eligible for overseas recruitment under stricter conditions.
UK Raises Bar for Foreign Workers, Students
The government also plans to reinforce compliance standards for institutions sponsoring international students, capping recruitment if they fall short.
Post-study work rights will be reduced to 18 months, down from the previous two years.
At the same time, the UK aims to attract “the brightest and best” through expanded high-talent routes and faster pathways for strategic industries.
In efforts to prevent abuse, the government said it would tighten visa scrutiny, especially for asylum seekers whose home conditions have not “materially changed.”
These changes follow comments earlier this year by opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, who argued that citizenship should not be “an automatic right,” calling for stricter settlement requirements for migrants.
