New Home Office immigration rules set to impact Health & Care Sector.

The Home Office has revoked more than 470 sponsor licences in the sector which has result in many sponsored workers being left displaced.

To address this, sponsors who are recruiting for care workers or senior care workers must prioritise recruitment from the pool of displaced migrants before offering roles to migrants from overseas or to those in-country who are not already sponsored as care workers or senior care workers.

An exception applies to migrants looking to change jobs but working legally for the sponsor under a different visa route or as a care worker or senior care worker for at least three months preceding the date of application.

Sponsors will be required to provide evidence from their relevant regional or sub-regional partners to confirm they have not found a suitable worker for the role from the pool of displaced migrants. To facilitate the recruitment of displaced migrant workers, the Home Office is restraining from issuing leave curtailment letters to displaced migrants in the care sector.

Another substantial change is the annual salary requirement will increase to £25,000 (or £12.82 per hour) from £23,200 (or £11.90 per hour). It is part of the annual review to ensure the rates remain over the National Living Wage which will increase from April 2025. As usual the hourly rate for sponsored workers is higher than the National Living Wage rate.

These changes are effective for certificates of sponsorship which are assigned on or after 9 April 2025.

If you require specialist immigration advice please contact RWK Goodman’s Health & Social Care team. The team are also able to offer mock compliance audits to ensure you are meeting compliance requirements and avoid your sponsor licence being revoked.