From Crisis to Collapse: Care England Express Concern Over Sudden End to Overseas Recruitment

Care England expresses deep concern following the Government’s announcement that the Health and Care Worker visa route will be closed to new overseas applicants for adult social care roles: this decision risks serious consequences for a sector already under immense pressure.

The adult social care sector currently faces around 131,000 vacancies, according to the latest Skills for Care Workforce data[1] and international recruitment has been a critical tool in maintaining recruitment levels. While concerns around exploitation must be addressed, the proposed solution – ending overseas recruitment entirely – removes a vital workforce supply without establishing a viable domestic alternative.

The Government has cited future reforms, including the Fair Pay Agreement and the Employment Rights Bill, as long-term solutions. However, these initiatives remain years away from delivery and are not backed by sufficient funding. In the interim, providers are left facing an immediate and widening workforce gap, rising costs, and increased pressure on delivery.

Professor Martin Green OBE commented:

“Cutting off international recruitment before a domestic solution is in place puts the cart well before the horse. The Fair Pay Agreement and the Employment Rights Bill, as outlined by Government, are years away from implementation and remain underfunded and undefined. They cannot replace what is being taken away now.”

The decision to restrict overseas recruitment also reinforces harmful narratives around care work being “low skilled,” ignoring the expertise and dedication of both domestic and international care staff. Social care is a highly skilled, high-responsibility profession that deserves recognition and sustained investment. With this attitude, it will become harder and harder to recruit domestically, further widening the workforce gap.

This move, despite international recruits having a lower turnover rate (30%) compared to domestic recruits (41.1%), according to Skills for Care data[2], will place greater pressure on providers already burdened by unsustainable agency costs and rising demand, with many at risk of exiting the market. Displaced overseas workers may be offered as a stopgap, but they represent a fraction of the workforce required and are not always suitable for frontline roles. The transition period until 2028 does not address the loss of future overseas talent, nor the escalating challenges providers face in recruiting domestically, particularly as the sector continues to struggle with retention, negative public perceptions, and financial instability.

Professor Martin Green OBE concluded:

“Let’s be clear – this decision is not a solution. It is a political gesture that treats the symptoms but ignores the disease. Rather than investing in the sector and solving the recruitment crisis, the Government is closing the door on one of the only workforce pipelines still functioning. Social care is not low-skilled work. It is high-skill, low-pay work that deserves respect, proper recognition, and meaningful investment.”

Preventing overseas recruitment places even greater strain on a fragile system and jeopardises care for thousands.

[1] The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2024

[2] The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2024