“Taking back control of our borders”. It’s the dependants stupid!
On behalf of the Centre for Care, Majella Kilkey writes about the current discussions around restricting migrant care workers’ bringing dependants to the UK.
Almost four years after the UK left the European Union (EU) and almost three years since it introduced a new immigration system to replace European Freedom of Movement provisions, it is clear that “taking back control of our borders” has not resulted in reduced migration to the UK. The latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) put the level of net migration – the difference calculated between immigration and emigration – at 672,000 in the year ending June 2023. The equivalent figure at the time of the 2016 Brexit referendum was 321,000.
According to the ONS, the most recent increase in immigration is the result of more people coming to undertake paid work, especially in the social care sector. Home Office data show that in the year ending June 2023, 77,662 visas were granted to care workers and home carers (59,996) and senior care workers (17,666) combined; this number constitutes two-thirds of all the Health and Care worker visas granted in that year, and just over one-third of all worker visas granted.
The Skilled Worker – Health and Care visa
Care Workers and Home Carers became eligible for the Skilled Worker – Health and Care visa in February 2022. The visa was launched in August 2020 for medical professionals working with the NHS, an NHS supplier or in adult social care. Its extension to the roles of Care Assistant, Care Worker, Carer, Home Care Assistant, Home Carer and Support Worker (Nursing Home) followed a recommendation by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in its 2021 Annual Report. MAC recommended the move, along with the placement of these roles on the Shortage Occupation List (allowing employers to sponsor care workers subject to a minimum salary of £20,480 per year), in an attempt to address the social care sector’s recruitment and retention challenges, which had been exacerbated by the cessation of European Freedom of Movement following Brexit.
