By Kudakwashe Pembere
Recent UK Home Office data shows that over 21,000 Zimbabweans have been granted Health and Care Worker visas to work in Britain. However, proposed changes to the UK’s immigration rules have drawn strong criticism from opposition MPs and migrant support groups.
The changes would increase the time needed to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from five years to 10 years for most migrants. Care workers on Health and Care Worker visas would have to wait 15 years before they could apply.
ILR allows migrants to live and work in the UK without any time limits. It also gives more job freedom, long-term security for families, and access to wider rights.
For many years, most migrants, including health and care workers, could apply for ILR after just five years of legal residence.
Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn has described the plan as a “much wider assault on the rights and dignity of people”.
In a letter to the UK Home Secretary, Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood, Corbyn said the proposed changes would have devastating consequences for health and social care workers and for a sector already facing severe staffing pressures.
“I am writing to share my grave concerns over the government’s proposed changes to visa rules for care workers,” Corbyn said.
“In November, you announced your plans to extend the number of years that an individual must have lawfully lived in the UK before they are eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Under the proposals, the standard qualifying period will increase from five years to 10 years. For care workers on Health and Care Worker visas, the qualifying period is set to triple to 15 years.
“These changes are devastating for thousands of health and social care workers, who will now find it much harder to settle in Britain. In turn, this will have a catastrophic impact on the care sector by deepening the already severe workforce crisis.”
Corbyn said he had recently met several constituents who were distressed by the proposed policy shift, including a care worker who arrived in the UK in September 2023.
“She described to me the exploitation and precarity she has endured as a care worker, which forced her to take on an additional part time job to survive. ‘And yet we continue to care’, she said,” Corbyn wrote.
The worker later shared her experience in a letter to the MP.
“The people we support never saw the pain behind the smile. They saw a carer who held their hand. Who listened. Who reassured. Who made them feel safe. We put smiles on the faces of the nation’s loved ones while our own children live with fear and uncertainty. All we ask is that our families, too, be allowed to smile.”
Corbyn said such testimonies reflected widespread fear among migrant workers who had built their lives in the UK.
“She is one of many constituents who are terrified by the proposed changes. Carers, teachers, cleaners, you name it. People who have come to this country and contributed so much are fearful for their future. The government’s plans treat care workers with contempt and show the opposite of gratitude for those who have dedicated their lives to supporting people in need.”
The proposed changes to ILR qualifying periods remain at the consultation stage and must pass further legislative scrutiny before becoming law. Existing settlement routes remain open, meaning care workers who already meet the current requirements can still apply under the five year rule.
In his letter, Corbyn said he was amplifying his constituents’ demands and called on the government to:
- Protect the five year ILR qualifying period.
- End employer tied visas that allow exploitation to flourish and replace them with a fair, sector wide sponsorship model.
- Introduce a Fair Pay Agreement to guarantee proper pay, rights, and working conditions for care workers.
Sector leaders and migrant rights groups have warned that extending settlement timelines from five to 15 years for care workers will worsen staff shortages and deter overseas recruitment. The care and social work sectors have become heavily reliant on international labour to fill gaps that domestic recruitment has failed to address.
Opposition figures have also cautioned that the policy risks creating a tiered immigration system, leaving essential workers in prolonged temporary status with limited job mobility and reduced family security. Continued dependence on employer tied visas, they argue, increases the risk of labour exploitation.
The government has defended the proposals as part of a broader effort to address abuses linked to the care visa route, including allegations of sponsor misconduct and cases of workers arriving in the UK with little or no guaranteed employment. Officials have noted that visa grants to health and care workers have declined sharply since late 2023 following tighter Home Office scrutiny and action against non compliant employers.
Home Office data shows that Health and Care Worker visas, covering care workers, home carers, nurses, and other frontline staff, rose sharply between 2021 and 2023. Grants to main applicants peaked at about 145,800 in the year ending December 2023, up from roughly 31,800 in 2021, following expanded eligibility for care roles under the Skilled Worker and Health and Care visa routes.
Within this growth, Zimbabwean nationals recorded a significant increase. Official statistics show that Zimbabweans were granted 21,130 Health and Care Worker visas in the year ending September 2023, up from 7,846 the previous year, representing a rise of more than 169 percent.
