The United Kingdom has announced plans to abolish the popular care worker visa route, a move that may significantly affect thousands of Nigerians seeking employment opportunities in the UK’s health and social care sector.
UK Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, disclosed on Sunday that the visa pathway—widely used by migrants from Nigeria and other developing countries—will be phased out in the coming months as part of efforts to reduce overall migration figures.
The development, which will be outlined in a white paper scheduled for release today (Monday), forms part of broader reforms aimed at ending the recruitment of foreign workers into low-skilled roles.
Describing the existing system as a “failed free market experiment,” Cooper told the BBC that the government intends to reduce annual migrant inflow by about 50,000. However, she declined to give a specific target for net migration but said it “should come down significantly more” than 500,000.
This crackdown comes in the wake of strong local election performances by Reform UK, a party running on a hardline anti-immigration stance, which is now polling ahead of Labour in some quarters. Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, also weighed in on Sunday, promising “tough new measures” to regain control of migration. “British workers — I’ve got your back,” Starmer said.
The planned visa ban has triggered concern within the UK’s care sector, which is already battling critical staff shortages. Jane Townson, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, queried how care homes would cope. “Where will these workers come from if neither the funding nor the migration route exists?” she asked.
While acknowledging the crisis in staffing, Cooper maintained that care providers must recruit from the 10,000-plus migrants already in the UK on care visas. She claimed some of these workers had taken up positions that were either non-existent or below standard.
The Home Secretary also announced plans for a new “fair pay agreement” to improve conditions for care workers. “We saw that huge increase in care work recruitment from abroad, but without actually ever tackling the problems in the system,” she noted.
Reacting to the move, Shadow Immigration Minister, Chris Philp, dismissed the proposal as “a little 50,000 tweak,” accusing the Conservative government of acting “too late” after migration figures soared past 900,000 in 2023.
Additional reforms will also see stricter limits on skilled worker visas—now restricted to graduate-level roles—while non-graduate visa holders will only be eligible for temporary jobs tied to urgent industrial needs.
For international students, changes appear to be less severe than anticipated. However, Cooper stressed that UK universities must enforce full compliance with visa rules.
Meanwhile, Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, said the surge in public anger over immigration was responsible for his party’s strong showing in local elections. He criticised the government’s plans as inadequate, calling for the creation of a “separate, dedicated Department of Immigration.”
