UK Care Worker Recruitment: UK tells care companies to first try to hire locally

TOI correspondent from London: The UK government has announced new rules for recruiting foreign care workers in the UK, prioritising foreign care workers already in the country above those based overseas. Indian nationals are currently the largest recipient of care worker visas in Britain.
From April 9, care providers in the UK who want to recruit a new worker from overseas will have to first prove that they have attempted to recruit a foreign worker from within England who needs new sponsorship.
Thousands of Indians who came to the UK on care worker visas have been left in destitute conditions, with some facing deportation.
Many paid huge fees to agents in India to come to the UK, only to find the care company that sponsored their visa for does not exist or has no care work. Once their licence was revoked, they faced deportation.
The new rules will allow this pool of workers to get hired. Seema Malhotra, minister for migration and citizenship, said: “Those who have come to the UK to support our adult care sector should have the opportunity to do so, free from abuse and exploitation.”
Between July 2022 and December 2024, the UK government revoked 470 sponsor licences in the care sector to clamp down on abuse and exploitation. Over 39,000 workers have been associated with these sponsors since October 2020.