LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – In a significant policy shift, the United Kingdom has announced a ban on overseas recruitment for social care roles as part of a broader effort to curb what the government terms “low-skilled migration.”
The sweeping policy change was unveiled on Monday with the release of an 82-page Immigration White Paper titled “Restoring Control over the Immigration System.” The government described the document as the most substantial overhaul of the UK’s immigration framework in decades.
According to the white paper, the social care visa route will be closed to new international applicants. The UK Home Office stated that this pathway had been “exploited and overused in ways that damage public confidence and do not support long-term workforce sustainability.”
“This marks a clear departure from dependence on low-wage foreign labour in the health and social care sectors,” the paper asserted. “We will instead support long-term workforce planning and training within the UK.”
Tightening the Definition of Skilled Work
The government is implementing a series of measures aimed at redefining and restricting access to the UK labour market. These include raising the thresholds for salary, qualifications, and English language proficiency across the majority of visa categories.
“We are tightening the definition of skilled work — skilled must mean skilled,” the document emphasized. “Jobs that fail to meet the new criteria will no longer qualify for visas, regardless of the sector.”
A key and potentially contentious element of the reforms is the abolition of the Immigration Salary List. This mechanism previously allowed employers to offer lower wages for specific roles deemed essential.
“This list has enabled the undercutting of UK wages,” the Home Office explained. “Its removal is a step toward ensuring that migration uplifts the labour market rather than depresses it.”
Employers Required to Prioritize Local Talent
Under the new immigration system, employers will face stricter requirements to demonstrate that they have thoroughly explored domestic recruitment options before considering hiring from overseas.
“No employer should default to migration as the first option,” the white paper stated. “We are rebalancing the system to reward investment in domestic training, not reliance on overseas workers.”
Political Commitment to Reducing Migration Numbers
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the reforms as “a bold, necessary reset” with the primary goal of reducing record-level net migration, which has reportedly quadrupled between 2019 and 2023.
“We are acting decisively to bring immigration numbers down and to restore public confidence in our system,” Cooper said. “This is about ending the perception that immigration is a substitute for proper skills planning.”
The announcement has already elicited a range of reactions. Critics have voiced concerns about potential labour shortages, particularly within the vital social care sector. However, the government maintains that these reforms are crucial for establishing a sustainable and self-reliant workforce in the long term.
