The UK government has officially barred new overseas applications for social care roles, unveiling a hardline immigration reform that includes sharp restrictions on so-called “low-skilled migration.” In an 82-page policy document titled “Restoring Control over the Immigration System,” released Monday, the Home Office outlined what it described as the most substantial reset of the immigration system in a generation.
“We will close social care visas to new overseas applications,” the Home Office announced, stating that “this route has been exploited and overused in ways that damage public confidence and do not support long-term workforce sustainability.”
Effective immediately, the move terminates international access to care worker roles. For those already in the UK under care worker visas, limited extensions or status switches will be permitted until 2028, pending a domestic workforce overhaul.
The document insists that “the health and social care sector must move away from reliance on low-wage overseas recruitment,” and emphasizes that future solutions will come through “long-term workforce planning and training within the UK.”
A central theme of the reforms is a stricter definition of what qualifies as ‘skilled work’ under the points-based immigration system. According to the White Paper, “we are tightening the definition of skilled work — skilled must mean skilled,” adding, “work that does not meet the bar will not be eligible for a visa, no matter the sector.”
To reinforce this, the government is eliminating the controversial Immigration Salary List, which previously enabled hiring foreign workers below the standard salary threshold. “We will remove the Immigration Salary List to prevent undercutting of UK wages and to ensure that migration supports, rather than suppresses, the labour market,” the Home Office declared.
The new policy will shift responsibility back onto employers, requiring them to demonstrate serious domestic recruitment efforts before seeking foreign hires—particularly in industries with high dependency on overseas labour.
“No employer should be allowed to default to migration. We are rebalancing the system to reward training, not reliance,” the document stated.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the tough measures as essential. “We are acting to bring numbers down and restore control. We must rebuild public trust and end the perception that immigration is a substitute for skills planning,” she said.
The policy paper’s language underscores the government’s intent: “We will not allow temporary migration routes to become permanent. Our reforms will restore integrity and ensure immigration works for Britain — not the other way round.”
