Direct overseas recruitment into care ended in July 2025. The Home Office's November 2025 consultation proposed a 15-year wait for settlement for care workers, against a new standard of 10 years and five under current rules, and the government has not decided. MHA and UNISON want the wait kept at five years, the Homecare Association wants care workers already in post exempt, and it is not known whether they will be.
The numbers behind this story.
Workforce · International recruitment
People arriving in the UK and starting direct care roles, independent sector · 2020/21 to 2025/26
Source: Skills for Care, The size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2025/26 (PDF) (opens in a new tab) Published 27 September 2026
Workforce · Nationality
Share of filled posts by nationality · 2020/21 to 2025/26
Source: Skills for Care, The size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2025/26 (PDF) (opens in a new tab) Published 27 September 2026
MHA chief executive Sam Monaghan and UNISON General Secretary Andrea Egan want care workers' wait for settlement to stay at five years, warning that the proposed 15 years risks pushing providers back to costly agency staff.
The Homecare Association says its survey shows sponsored staff already leaving, and wants the government to confirm that care workers already living and working in the UK will not face the proposed 15-year route to settlement.