New immigration rule changes for employers and health care workers in UK from April 9

LONDON March 14: The Home Office has announced a fresh wave of immigration policy changes that will impact the health and care sector, including entry-level Band 3 staff.

From 9 April 2025, the following changes will come into force:

Care providers in England seeking to recruit a new worker from overseas, or those switching from another visa route, will have to first provide proof that they have attempted to recruit a worker resident in England.

The minimum salary threshold for skilled workers will increase to £12.82 per hour or £25,000 per annum, from £23,200. According to a solicitor, the minimum salary for sponsored care workers will be £12.82 an hour or £25,000 a year after April 9th. This applies ONLY to care workers with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) assigned after April 9th or for those whose sponsorship is subsequently renewed after this date.

Health and education occupations, including doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and teachers, will also see their minimum rates increased to reflect the latest national pay scales, meaning that entry level Band 3 roles will no longer meet the salary threshold.

There will also be increased powers for caseworkers to refuse visa applications to the short-term Student Visa route where they are suspected of being non-genuine.

What does this mean for NHS trusts?

According to NHS Employers website, due to the increase to the salary threshold, after 9 April entry-level Band 3 roles will no longer be eligible for international sponsorship. Employers will need to wait until the Agenda for Change 25/26 pay award is announced to determine if it will be above the £25,000 salary threshold.

Those Band 3 roles that require renewals on the top step point of £25,674 will meet the required skills and salary threshold and can continue to be sponsored.

The Home Office says these changes will ensure those who came to the UK to pursue a career in adult social care can do so and that it will help end the reliance on overseas recruitment. You can read more on the GOV.UK latest news.

Under the new rules, care providers in England must work with the relevant regional partnership in the area they are located, or recruiting, and attempt to recruit from a pool of workers impacted by revocation before they can sponsor a care worker or senior care worker from another route or from overseas. A list of regional partnership contact details will be published on the GOV.UK website soon.

The new rules will not apply to international workers who are already being sponsored as a care worker (SOC 6135) or senior care worker (SOC 6136) or where providers are seeking to sponsor someone switching from another immigration route who has already been working for them for at least three months. The relevant section of the immigration rules can be found on GOV.UK.

According to Nara Solicitors, the Key Changes Affecting Care Worker Sponsorship are as below:

New Recruitment Requirements for Sponsors: Care providers in England looking to sponsor new Care Workers (SOC 6135) and Senior Care Workers (SOC 6136) must now prove they have attempted to recruit from a pool of Skilled Workers already in the UK.

Specifically, they must have considered candidates who:

Were last sponsored in an eligible care-related occupation.

Require new sponsorship due to their previous sponsor losing its licence, failing to provide sufficient work, or being identified by regional partnerships as needing assistance in securing employment.

Sponsors must obtain confirmation from regional or sub-regional partnerships that these requirements have been met before issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) or if someone switching from a different occupation code or visa category, they must meet the new requirement as well. The sponsor must confirm that no suitable workers were available from this pool of Skilled Workers.

Who is Affected? The rule applies if an applicant:

• Is applying for a visa from outside the UK.

• Is in the UK and applying for permission to stay (switching or extending), but was not previously sponsored as a care worker (SOC 6135 or 6136).

This rule does not apply to those who were already:

• Sponsored in the same care-related occupation codes (SOC 6135 or 6136) under Skilled Worker route and now changing employer under the health and care route.

• Sponsored in the older SOC 2010 codes (6145 or 6146), which previously covered care workers before being updated.

• Legally working for the same sponsor in a care role for at least three months before switching to health and care route.

Click To Read the full statement of changes here