Within this space you will find useful resources and signposting information in relation to the recruitment of international care workers.

International Recruitment Fund for the Adult Social Care Sector

The government has made an investment of £15m available to help support international recruitment across the adult social care sector.

Telford & Wrekin Council have secured funding from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to support international recruitment in social care.

The following guidance is available to help you explore and maximise opportunities that overseas recruitment offers:

Aim

The aim of the grant monies is to support the re-deployment of displaced workers. Displaced workers are care workers who have come to the UK from overseas and have lost their employment as a result of the care agency for whom they are working having had their license revoked.

Criteria for funding

Funding is available to all Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered social care providers operating within Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. Telford & Wrekin Council will fund ethical employers’ costs to enable them to employ displaced international care workers or work with other ethical care agencies who are not sponsors to facilitate interviews. Monies would fund visa costs and the necessary support.

The criteria for costs covered under the funding:

Certificate of Sponsorship
(CoS) application process

  • Application fee
  • CoS fee
  • Surcharge fee
  • Priority services fee
  • DBS costs

 

Conditions of funding

All providers who are successful in securing grant funding must adhere to the Code of Practice for International Recruitment.

The Department of Health and Social Care have created the 'Code of Practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England'. You can view the code of practice on GOV.UK.

How to apply

Applications can be made by individuals or employers to recoup costs incurred during the International Recruitment programme. These applications will be reviewed and agreed by the International Recruitment Working Group for Telford & Wrekin.

Follow this link for the Application Form:

For further information, please email: STW-DSCR@telford.gov.uk

Further resources

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)

International recruitment toolkit for adult social care providers: a guide to good practice

Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England

UK Visa Sponsorship for Employers

Skills for Care

International Recruitment Toolkit - March 2024

Recruiting and Retaining Staff from Overseas

Ethical International Recruitment: What you need to know

International Recruitment of Nurses into Social Care - How do we ensure a good experience for all?

Legal Advice

WMIRHelpline@la-law.com

Sponsor Licence Applications

Reporting an Immigration or Border Crime

Report an Immigration or Border Crime


Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Health and Care Worker Visa?

The Health and Care Worker Visa is for overseas healthcare workers who come to work in the UK health and social care sector.

Successful applicants can work in the UK for a period of up to five years, after which they can apply to extend their visa, or apply for UK indefinite leave to remain.

For applicants, the benefits of the Health and Care Worker Visa include fast-tracked entry to the UK, together with reduced visa fees and exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Are adult social care workers eligible for the Health and Care Worker Visa?

Yes. Adult Social Care workers were added to the Shortage Occupation List in February 2022, thereby becoming eligible for the Health and Care Worker Visa.

The Health and Care Worker Visa was first launched in August 2020 but was limited to senior care workers, registered managers, and other medical professionals. Social care workers, care assistants, and home care workers were added in February 2022, reflecting pandemic pressures on the healthcare sector.

It is important to note that the eligibility of Adult Social Care workers for the Health and Care Worker Visa remains subject to government review and change.

What are the eligibility criteria for the Health and Care Worker Visa?

Eligibility criteria include having a sponsored job offer from a Home Office-approved employer in the health or social care sector and meeting the English language and financial requirements. Applicants will also need to undergo a medical examination (often including Tuberculosis/TB immunisation) and obtain a police clearance certificate.

How long does the Health and Care Worker Visa last?

There are two visa options: a visa of up to three years costing £247; or for £479 a visa of more than three years, which can last up to five years, after which the applicant can extend their visa, or apply for settlement.

What is the English language requirement for the Health and Care Worker Visa?

Unless an applicant is exempt, for example, because they are a national of a majority English-speaking country, they will need to pass an approved Secure English Language Test (SELT) with at least level B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale, or have an academic qualification that was taught in English.

Level B1 is broadly equivalent to English GCSE Level 4 / 5 (formerly grade C), or an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 4 (whereas Nurses and qualified social workers must score 7).

Click here for further information

How can accredited English Language test certificates be verified?

There are two accredited English language test providers, IELTS and the Occupational English Test (OET). Both providers have online verification systems for validating English language certificates and test results.

Visit the NHS employer’s website for further information

What is the financial requirement for the Health and Care Worker Visa?

The applicant is required to provide evidence that they have at least £1,270 in an account in their name for 28 days before the application. Alternatively, the sponsor can tick a box on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to confirm that it certifies the applicant’s maintenance. This means the sponsor will maintain and accommodate the applicant, for up to £1,270 until the end of the first month of sponsorship/employment, if required.

Do Health and Care Worker Visa holders pay the healthcare surcharge?

No. Health and Care Worker Visa holders are exempt from the UK Immigration Health Surcharge. This represents a significant benefit, providing overseas health and care workers with free access to NHS healthcare services, whereas most other visa holders must pay a health surcharge of £624 per year.

Are qualified social workers eligible for the Health and Care Worker Visa?

Yes, however, there are additional requirements that overseas recruits must comply with to practice as a social worker in England. Applicants must demonstrate they have successfully completed a qualification of a comparable standard to the England social work qualification, or evidence of equivalent training and experience. There is a scrutiny fee payable of £495 and if the application for registration is successful, a registration fee of £90 per annum. Applications for registration usually take 60 working days to process.

English language requirements must be met in one of three ways: an IELTS certificate demonstrating the full academic version was undertaken with a score of at least 7; the applicant qualified as a social worker in the last five years in a country where English is the first and native language, or the applicant is registered and practising as a social worker in a country where English is the first and native language.

Detailed guidance has been set out by Social Work England Guidance for applicants who qualified overseas.

Can sponsored care workers work a second job under a Health and Care Worker Visa?

From 27 August 2023, Health and Care Worker Visa holders can work a maximum of 20-hours of supplementary paid work per week. The job will need to be either in the same occupation code and at the same level as their main job, or in a shortage occupation. This is the standard arrangement for Skilled Worker visa holders, but Health and Care Worker Visa holders were granted a 6-month exemption in March 2023. So from 27 August 2023, if a Health and Care Worker Visa holder undertakes more than 20-hours of supplementary work, they will be breaking the terms of their visa. This could lead to their visa being cancelled, and they could be deported.

Supplementary work will have no bearing on the primary employer’s sponsorship obligations – i.e. the sponsor must ensure that the work they offer delivers the minimum salary requirements, without considering any secondary earnings.

For official guidance, visit the gov.uk website here.

Can Health and Care Worker Visa holders switch to another visa category?

Yes, Health and Care Worker Visa holders can switch to another visa category, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for that category.

Can Health and Care Worker Visa holders apply for settlement in the UK?

Yes, Health and Care Worker Visa holders can apply for settlement in the UK, provided they meet the eligibility criteria and have been in the UK for a certain period.

What is a sponsor licence?

A sponsor licence is a legal requirement for UK organisations that want to hire non-UK resident skilled workers. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), a division of the Home Office, oversees the sponsor licence process, ensuring that organisations meet strict requirements to hire foreign workers legally.

How long does a sponsor licence last?

The requirement for sponsors to renew their sponsor licence every four years was abolished from 6 April 2024. UK sponsor licences are now valid for 10 years. 

Must a new Domiciliary Care provider be approved by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) before obtaining a Sponsor License?

If CQC regulation is mandatory, approval must be obtained before applying for a Sponsor License.

Do you have to offer a 37.5 hour contract to sponsor someone on a Health and Care Worker Visa?

No, there is no specific requirement to offer a 37.5-hour contract to sponsor someone on the Health and Care Worker Visa. Sponsors need to ensure they pay BOTH the minimum hourly rate, which is currently £11.90, AND the minimum overall salary, which is £23,200, but there is no minimum number of working hours.

The reason 37.5 hours is often mentioned in minimum salary guidance is that this is the number of hours required when paying the minimum hourly rate of £11.90 to deliver the minimum salary of £23,200.

NOTE: Minimum rates generally change each year in April, in line with changes in National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage legislation.

Can a care provider be liable for engaging an agency worker with no Right to Work check?

To a certain extent, yes. As the agency is technically the employer, they are liable for failure to carry out right to work checks. However, CQC Regulation 19 will apply to most care providers, which requires them to assure themselves that all employment checks (including right to work) are complete and satisfactory when those checks are carried out by a party other than the provider.

For details on how to conduct a Right to Work check for a visa holder, see here.

How does UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) apply sponsor licence ratings?

Businesses granted a new employer sponsorship licence are A-rated. UKVI monitor sponsors for the duration of the licence period and reserves the right to inspect businesses (without notice) to ensure that they are carrying out their sponsor duties. Should UKVI have concerns that a business is not adhering to its duties, it may downgrade them to a B-rating, rendering them unable to issue new Certificates of Sponsorship, until they have made improvements.

If a B-rated sponsor fails to make the required improvements, they may have their licence revoked entirely. In this situation, any sponsored workers would also have their visas revoked.

Does an employer have to advertise a job vacancy in the UK for 28 days before offering the vacancy to an international applicant?

No. The requirement for licenced sponsors to complete a “Resident Labour Market Test” (including advertising a role for 28 days prior to being able to offer it to an overseas candidate) was scrapped by the Home Office in December 2020. Furthermore, since health and care worker roles are included in the Government Shortage Occupation List, they would have been exempt from this even when it was a requirement.

How are Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) issued?

You must assign a certificate of sponsorship to each foreign worker you employ. Each certificate has a unique code, which a worker can use to apply for a visa within three months. They must not apply for their visa more than three months before the start date of the job listed on the certificate.

Several CoS’s are issued when the sponsorship licence is granted and they are then reissued annually, in line with the agreed business plan.

Additional CoS’s can be applied for through the sponsorship management system (SMS). You will get access to the SMS when you get your licence.

Applying for additional CoS’s will take 13 weeks. Unused CoS’s expire after three months.

Timing is a consideration when planning a recruitment campaign. Leaving it late to apply for certificates could mean waiting extra time before new recruits start and applying too early could mean that the certificates expire. The advice from the UKVI is to apply for additional certificates at the start of the recruitment campaign, to best align the processes.

If the worker is based overseas when you make an application, you will need a Defined CoS. If you are applying for someone who is already in the UK and currently working for someone else, you will need an Undefined CoS.

If the employee that the Certificate relates to stops working for you, UKVI should be informed, and the CoS will be cancelled. The worker will then no longer be assigned to you.

Can Health and Care Worker Visa holders bring their dependants to the UK?

Since 11 March 2024 Health and Care Worker Visa holders are no longer able to bring their dependents (spouse or partner, and any dependent children) to the UK.

Dependants already in the UK were permitted to stay for the duration of the Health and Care Worker Visa holder’s sponsorship. They also retain their right to remain if the Health and Care Worker Visa holder decides to extend their stay, change employers (within the same SOC code), or apply for settlement.

If an overseas worker is in the UK on a Health and Care Worker Visa before the Immigration Rules changed and had not yet brought their dependents, they were allowed to do so throughout their sponsorship.

If we sponsor a candidate transitioning from a student visa to a Health and Care Worker Visa after the immigration rules changed, can they keep their dependants in the country on the new visa, or must their dependants leave?

If the candidate holds a student visa but applied to switch their status to a Health and Care Visa after 11 March 2024, they were not able to apply for their dependants to be granted leave, and their dependants either had to leave the UK or apply for an alternative visa category.

In addition, with effect from 1 January 2024, most international students were no longer allowed to bring family members with them to the UK as dependants (unless they were enrolled in a PhD or postgraduate research programme).

If we sponsor a student’s dependant where the student has not yet completed their course of study, can we still sponsor the dependant?

With effect from 17 July 2023 onwards, international students in the country no longer had the right to switch to a UK work visa unless their course had been completed.

It is worth bearing in mind that Student visa holders in the UK may still have the right to work during their time on that visa, depending on such factors as what they are studying, and whether they will be working in or out of term time.

If they have a spouse in the UK as their dependant, they will be entitled to make their own switch to the Skilled Worker visa if they wish, before the Student has completed their course.

If however the Student is also applying to switch to become a dependant under their Spouse’s Skilled Worker Visa, the Home Office will request for confirmation that the Student has completed their course. In such circumstances their Spouse could switch to their own Skilled Worker Visa and the Student could switch thereafter to become their dependant after they have completed their course of study.

What is the minimum salary and hourly rate for an employee on a Health and Care Worker Visa from April 2024?

From 4 April 2024, minimum salaries for overseas carers sponsored on the Health and Care Worker Visa increased to £23,200 per annum, or £11.90 per hour (based on a 37.5 hour working week).

Existing Health and Care Worker Visa holders were exempt from this increase. However, they are required to meet the National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage, which increased to £22,308 per annum, or £11.44 per hour from 4 April 2024.

We would advise against operating a two-tier salary arrangement and recommend bringing all sponsored care worker rates in line at a minimum of £23,200 per annum, to prevent potential discrimination claims.

These changes are based on the Home Office’s Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 590, issued on 14 March 2024.

If an employee on a Health and Care Worker Visa is unable to work due to illness or other issues, what should the employer do?

If a Health and Care Worker Visa holder falls sick, the employer should handle their absence as they would for any non-sponsored employee, following standard sick leave procedures. If the sponsored employee is absent for a total of four weeks or more, the employer must report this to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) through the Sponsor Management System (SMS). However, authorised absences for valid reasons, such as illness, should not impact the sponsorship. If the sponsored employee fails to inform the employer about the reason for their absence and is absent for 10 or more days without permission, the employer must report this to UKVI.

If an employee is on a ‘dependant permit’, can an employer potentially sponsor in the future?

As an employer you may wish to enquire further as to the immigration status of the dependant’s Spouse i.e. whether they are under a Student, Graduate or Skilled Worker visa; the expiry date of their status; any issues with their visa and if a Student when they will be completing their course as this may guide you in determining where there are any urgent deadlines to consider.

It would however be permitted for the dependant to switch at any point during the validity of their PBS Dependant Visa to a Skilled Worker/Health and Care Worker Visa and you would not need to sponsor them prior to employment.

It is also worth noting that dependants have more flexibility than the main applicant with respect to the conditions attached to their visa in that they can work in any role if their salary meets or exceeds national minimum wage legislation. They can also be self-employed, and you would also not need to incur the Home Office visa costs in order to sponsor the dependant under a Health and Care Worker Visa.  

Can a sponsored worker continue working if their sponsor has its licence revoked?

If a licence holding organisation has their licence revoked, there is no immediate obligation on them to dismiss their sponsored employees.

Once the licence has been revoked, the Home Office will curtail the visas of the sponsored workers. Until the visas are curtailed, the workers are still entitled to their rights under the visa conditions and thus they can continue working until the curtailment takes place.

Usually, the workers have 60 days between the notice of curtailment being issued and the curtailment taking effect, although this will not be the case if the worker has been complicit in the breach that caused the licence to be revoked.

So, during this 60-day period the employer is free to continue employing the workers under the terms of the visas. The idea is that the workers will have this grace period in which to regularise their leave by, for example seeking alternative employment. The 60-day period only starts to run once the notice has been issued.

What is an eVisa and how do employers verify the right to work in the UK for individuals without a British passport?

An eVisa is a digital record of a person’s UK immigration status, replacing physical Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) from 31 December 2024. It allows employers to check right-to-work status online using the Home Office’s View and Prove service.

Employers have a legal duty to ensure that anyone working for them has the right to work in the UK. If an individual does not hold a British passport but is in the UK on a visa, such as a student, spousal, or skilled worker visa (including the Health and Care Worker Visa), they must now use the new online View and Prove system to prove their right to work.

The process works in a similar way to an online DBS check. Workers must log into their UKVI online account via the View and Prove section of the gov.uk website. They can then request a ‘share code,’ and provide it to their employer. Employers then use this code, along with the worker’s date of birth, to verify their right to work through the Right to Work Check Service. The service generates a profile that includes the individual’s photograph, enabling employers to confirm the worker’s identity before offering employment.

From 31st December 2024, no new residence permits or paper visas will be issued. Once current visas or documentation expire, employees must be able to produce a share code, so they should ensure they can access their UKVI account well in advance.

Can Care Workers under Standard Occupational Classification (COD) Code 6145 work in Supported Living services for patients aged 16 to 18?

Care Workers under SOC Code 6145 cannot work in Supported Living services for patients aged 16 to 18, as such services fall under different regulations and do not qualify for a Health and Care Worker Visa.

What is the process for reporting concerns about modern slavery, abuse or exploitation of foreign workers?

Contact the Police: If you believe there is an immediate danger or you witness a crime, call the police emergency number (999) right away. For non-emergencies, you can contact your local police station or the non-emergency number (101).

Report to Modern Slavery Helpline: You can report your concerns to the Modern Slavery Helpline at 0800 0121 700. The helpline is available 24/7 and operated by trained specialists who can provide advice, support and guidance.

National Referral Mechanism (NRM): The NRM is a process for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery. If you suspect someone is a victim, you can make a referral to the NRM through the Home Office, law enforcement, or a designated organisation. The NRM referral form can be completed online.

Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA): If the exploitation involves labour abuse or workers’ rights violations, you can report it to the GLAA. They investigate and act against businesses or individuals exploiting workers.

What is the minimum salary requirement for sponsored Care Assistants and Senior Care Assistants?

The sponsoring employer must pay their skilled workers (Care Assistants and Senior Care Assistants) at least £23,200 per year. This threshold must be met over a rolling 17-week period.

Is there also a minimum hourly rate, or does the £11.90 rate simply represent the hourly rate required for someone working a 37.5-hour week to meet the annual salary threshold?

There is a minimum hourly rate. Employers cannot pay below £11.90 per hour—this is the absolute minimum required for compliance with sponsorship regulations. The £11.90 is not just a guideline based on a 37.5-hour week; it applies regardless of the number of hours worked.

If a care provider employs a Care Assistant to work 42 hours per week at an hourly rate of £11.75, their annual earnings would be £25,662. Would this meet the sponsorship requirements?

No, this would not meet the requirements. Even though the annual earnings exceed £23,200, the hourly rate falls below the mandatory minimum of £11.90 per hour. Employers must always pay at least £11.90 per hour, regardless of how many hours the employee works.

Does this mean a provider can’t meet the salary threshold by offering more hours at a lower hourly rate?

Correct. Employers cannot “get away” with paying below £11.90 per hour by offering more hours to meet the annual salary threshold. The hourly rate must always meet or exceed £11.90 to comply with sponsorship requirements.