Care worker visas: switching rules to July 2028

What closed, and when

The change came through the Statement of Changes HC 997, laid on 1 July 2025, with the Skilled Worker changes taking effect on 22 July 2025. It closed entry clearance (applications from outside the UK) for jobs in the two care occupation codes: 6135 (care workers and home carers) and 6136 (senior care workers). In practice, that ended overseas recruitment into frontline care roles through the Health and Care Worker visa.

The effect shows up in the Home Office's own figures. Its monthly visa statistics, published on 8 October 2026, record about 7,500 Health and Care Worker main-applicant applications in the year ending September 2026, a 63% fall on the year before. That route also covers NHS and other health roles, so not every application is for a care job, but the direction is clear.

Who can still be sponsored in a care role

The current rule (paragraph SW 6.1B of Appendix Skilled Worker) only allows care and senior care roles to be sponsored through an application made from inside the UK. There are two ways in:

Switchers from another route. The person must have been working legally for the sponsoring provider for at least three months before the certificate of sponsorship was issued, and must apply before 22 July 2028.
People already sponsored in these care codes. Someone who already holds Skilled Worker permission as a care worker or senior care worker is covered by a separate limb of the same rule. In the current text, that limb does not carry the 2028 date, which is why existing care workers are generally described as able to extend or change sponsor after the transition period. Individual cases turn on detail, so check them with an adviser.

The government's explanatory memorandum for HC 997 says the transition provision "will be kept under review". So the 2028 date is the one in force today, but it is not guaranteed.

English language: a higher bar for new grants

From 8 January 2026, the English requirement for an initial grant of Skilled Worker permission rose from B1 to B2 (Statement of Changes HC 1333). People who already hold permission granted at B1 stay at B1 when they extend on the same route. For a care provider, that matters most when someone switches into the Skilled Worker route for the first time, for example a former student or a dependant: they now need to meet B2.

Fewer people in the switching pool

HC 1333 also shortens the Graduate route from two years to 18 months for applications made on or after 1 January 2027. Graduates and students have been one source of people who later switch into care roles. A shorter Graduate visa gives a smaller window in which someone can work for a provider for three months and then be sponsored. That is our reading of the rules, not a Home Office forecast.

What this means across settings

The rule is the same whether you run a residential home, a nursing home, a supported living service or a domiciliary care agency: frontline care roles can only be filled through the in-country route. Registered nurses are in a different occupation code and are not affected by this particular closure.

What this means for your service

Do not plan on overseas recruitment for care roles. Since 22 July 2025, there is no route to bring a new care worker or senior care worker from abroad.
Check who on your team could switch. Someone on another visa who has worked for you legally for at least three months may be eligible to be sponsored before 22 July 2028. Keep clear records of their start date, hours and pay.
Keep track of existing sponsored staff. Diary each person's visa expiry, and start conversations about extensions early.
Check English evidence for first-time Skilled Worker applicants. B2 applies to initial grants made on or after 8 January 2026.
Watch for changes to the 2028 date. The government says it is kept under review. We will report any change when it is published.
Build your domestic pipeline now. The rules point one way: recruitment and retention within the UK.

Kiwi isn't an immigration adviser. For your own situation, speak to an OISC-registered adviser or an immigration solicitor.