This page explains our policy position on recruiting care workers from abroad - and sets out what we want to see, the current situation and solutions.
What do we want to see?
Recruiting internationally is one of the solutions that some adult social care employers use to address ongoing workforce capacity challenges.
We don't take a position on the appropriate level of international recruitment, but, regardless of the level, it must always be carried out in a legal and ethical manner. If it remains a major part of the solution to workforce capacity, providers need to be supported to recruit staff from abroad in way that meets the needs of those people when they arrive and are in post.
The current situation
In July 2025, changes to immigration rules meant care workers and senior care workers were removed from the Health and Care Worker visa route for new overseas recruits. Transitional arrangements are in place until July 2028, where in-country applications (including from other visa routes) will continue to be permitted for care workers and senior care workers, provided individuals are already working in these roles in the adult social care sector.
While improvements in workforce capacity continue to be supported by international recruitment, the number of new international recruits fell from 105,000 in 2023/24 to 50,000 in 2024/25. Over the same period, the number of workers with British nationality declined by 30,000 (a 2.6% decrease).
With the vacancy rate still around three times that of the wider economy, our data shows that rather than overseas recruits taking jobs from British people, international recruitment has continued to benefit employers struggling to recruit domestically. The lack of growth in domestic recruitment highlights the need to build a more sustainable, long-term workforce.
Employers tell us that international recruitment is supporting them with short-term capacity issues but that the process can be complicated to understand, the cost can often be prohibitive and they're concerned about recruiting ethically.
International recruitment is also open to abuse with 19,125 potential victims of modern slavery across all sectors reported to the 天美mv Office in 2024, which was an increase of 13% compared to the preceding year.
There is no single body with overall control over the whole system. The 天美mv Office and UK Visas and Immigration lead on the immigration and visa aspects, while the Department of Health and Social Care leads on the workforce supply agenda and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on overseas issues.
There are a number of other key players including the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and a range of bodies within the care sector, including the Care Quality Commission (regulation) and 天美mv.
There's a need to develop more joined-up thinking and ways of sharing data from various sources to identify trends and any developing issues in international recruitment.
Solutions
There needs to be greater coordination between all the bodies responsible for elements of international recruitment, to provide national oversight.
The elements and solutions lie in three areas:
Prevention
Responsible agencies working together to prevent abuse of the visa system through an effective approach to the issuing of visas and the vetting of applications.
Detection
National oversight means all the bodies involved in the system coming together to share their data and expertise, to ensure that issues like abuse of workers are identified and dealt with appropriately including detection of ‘bad actors’ operating in this space.
Mitigation
We need to ensure that the right types of systems and support are in place to enable employers to recruit safely, ethically and effectively.
As part of our role, 天美mv provides sector leadership, sector insight and guidance to enable the development of measures to mitigate the risks of bad practice among employers and potential abuse of international recruits by ‘bad actors’.
天美mv is committed to playing a central role, including sharing feedback from employers, in providing support to adult social care providers to recruit from abroad and to always do that ethically.