Care homes across the United Kingdom are under growing threat following a sharp drop in overseas health and care workers due to new visa restrictions.
A crackdown on family visas has led to a significant fall in applications, placing already stretched care services at serious risk.
Government data reveals that only 26,000 people applied for the UK health and care worker visa in the year to March 2025, compared to 129,000 in the previous year.
The drop follows the introduction of rules that prevent care workers from bringing dependants with them, part of wider efforts to cut migration levels.
The impact is being felt across the sector, which is already grappling with over 100,000 vacancies in England alone — a vacancy rate three times the national average.
The decline in foreign recruits could lead to service disruptions and even care home closures, worsening pressure on NHS hospitals and frontline services.
The Labour government has also introduced a new salary threshold, requiring overseas applicants to earn over £25,000 per year to qualify for a visa.
This change is expected to disproportionately affect healthcare assistants, a key workforce group, 13 percent of whom come from abroad.
Sector leaders warn that relying solely on displaced international workers already in the UK will not solve the recruitment crisis.
Calls for urgent reforms to the visa process and strategic workforce planning are growing louder, with providers warning of systemic strain and declining capacity to deliver essential care.
Charities such as Age UK stress that overseas staff have kept many care services running during periods of intense pressure.
Without a sustainable supply of skilled workers, some facilities may have to shut, leaving vulnerable individuals without support and increasing reliance on already overburdened NHS hospitals.
Recent data from Skills for Care shows that the number of international recruits entering the independent care sector in England fell from 26,000 to just 8,000 per quarter between 2023 and 2024. March 2025 saw the lowest monthly applicant numbers since records began.
Healthcare experts and MPs are raising concerns that the government has failed to assess how sudden immigration rule changes could destabilise social care. There is a growing consensus that a strategic approach is urgently needed to recruit, train, and retain both domestic and overseas care workers.
Despite government claims that new rules will reduce reliance on overseas staff and prioritise workers already in the UK, care providers argue that the current measures risk deepening the workforce crisis and compromising the safety and dignity of care delivery across the country.
