Can you still get a UK care job with visa sponsorship?

Last checked: 19 October 2026, Elena. Every rule below links to the official GOV.UK page.

If you've searched for "care assistant jobs in the UK with visa sponsorship", you've probably seen adverts promising a quick route in. For most people reading this from abroad, that route closed over a year ago. It hasn't closed for everyone, though, and a few related roles are still open for now.

Here's the honest picture, depending on where you are today.

The short version

• Applying from outside the UK: since 22 July 2025, care worker and senior care worker roles can't be filled by new hires from overseas. (GOV.UK: Health and Care Worker visa, your job)
• Already in the UK: people already in the UK can still be sponsored for them until 22 July 2028, if they have worked legally for that sponsor in the role for at least three months before the certificate is issued. (Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 6.1B; Appendix Immigration Salary List)
• Already on a care worker visa: people who already hold a Skilled Worker visa as a care worker or senior care worker can continue to extend in that role. (Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 6.1B)
• Nurses and some other health roles: these are a different story, and many can still be sponsored from abroad.

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What changed, and which jobs it covers

The UK sorts jobs by occupation code. The two codes this change is about are 6135 (care workers and home carers) and 6136 (senior care workers). GOV.UK now lists them only for people who are extending, updating or switching to a Health and Care Worker visa, not for people applying from outside the UK. (GOV.UK: your job)

The rules set 22 July 2028 as the end date for those two codes, and the in-country route runs until then. (Appendix Immigration Salary List) Both this date and the 31 December 2026 salary list cut-off are on the visa and sponsorship key dates page.

If you're already in the UK

You may be able to switch to a Health and Care Worker visa from another visa. A few things to know first:

1. Three months with your sponsor. If you're switching to this visa as a care worker or senior care worker, you must have been working legally in the job for your sponsor for at least three months. (GOV.UK: switch to this visa)
2. Students have extra conditions. If you're on a Student visa, you also need to have finished your course, or have a job start date after your course ends, or be at least 24 months into a full-time PhD. (same source)
3. Some visas can't switch at all. You can't switch from a visit visa, a short-term student visa, a seasonal worker visa or a domestic worker in a private household visa, among others. (same source)
4. Your family can't come as your dependants. If you're sponsored as a care worker or senior care worker, your partner and children can't switch to this visa or join you from abroad as your dependants, unless you've worked in the UK as a care worker or senior care worker on a Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa continuously since before 11 March 2024. There are narrow exceptions for children, such as a child born in the UK. (GOV.UK: your partner and children; Appendix Skilled Worker SW 29.1A, SW 32A.2)
5. In England, the employer must be registered with the Care Quality Commission for care worker and senior care worker roles. (GOV.UK: your job)
6. Use the certificate in time. You must apply within 3 months of getting your certificate of sponsorship. (same source)

The good news on cost: on a Health and Care Worker visa, you and your partner or children don't pay the healthcare surcharge. (GOV.UK: Health and Care Worker visa)

If you're outside the UK

Care worker and senior care worker jobs aren't an option from abroad any more. Some health and care jobs still are:

• Registered nurses, midwives and other health professionals are on GOV.UK's list of occupations you can apply for from outside the UK. (GOV.UK: your job) For how UK sponsorship works in other jobs, see visa sponsorship jobs in the UK.
• Care home managers (1232) and nursing auxiliaries and assistants (6131) can still be sponsored from abroad, but only for a few more weeks. Both are open to new applicants only because they are on the Immigration Salary List, and a job on that list only counts if the certificate of sponsorship is issued before 31 December 2026. Neither code is on the Temporary Shortage List, so from 31 December 2026 the rules don't allow new hires from outside the UK in either code. People who have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously since before 22 July 2025 can still be sponsored in them from inside the UK. If you're hired from abroad in either code now, your partner and children can't join you as dependants. (Appendix Immigration Salary List; Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 6.1 and SW 29.1A; what the Immigration Salary List closing means)
• Healthcare roles in other countries. Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland all recruit healthcare workers from abroad once you are registered. Compare them in the best countries for visa sponsorship jobs.

Spotting a fake care job offer

Because care jobs were such a popular route, they still attract scams. Two checks take five minutes:

• Is the employer a licensed sponsor? Only an employer on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors can issue a certificate of sponsorship. (Register of licensed sponsors)
• Is it registered with the Care Quality Commission? For care worker roles in England it must be. (GOV.UK: your job)

If anyone asks you to pay for a job offer or a certificate of sponsorship, stop and check the employer directly. The job offer scam checklist walks you through it.

Where Global Sponsor Hub fits

Right now there are no sponsored care worker roles on Global Sponsor Hub, and the UK healthcare roles listed are mostly consultant doctor posts. So instead of filling this page with adverts that can't lead to a visa, here are the routes that are open, and an alert for when new roles arrive.

See jobs in the UK · UK country guide

To see which UK routes match your job, salary and experience, try the visa route finder. For advice on your own case, the immigration advisers directory lists advisers and lawyers.

Create your free Global Sponsor Hub account to save roles, get alerts and be found by employers hiring from abroad. Join nearly 3,000 candidates and growing daily. Create a free account · See jobs in the UK

FAQ

Can I get a UK care worker visa from outside the UK? No. Since 22 July 2025, care worker and senior care worker roles can't be filled by new hires from overseas.

I'm already in the UK. Can I still get a care job with sponsorship? Possibly. People already in the UK can still be sponsored for them until 22 July 2028, if they have worked legally for that sponsor in the role for at least three months before the certificate is issued. Your current visa must also allow you to switch.

I already have a care worker visa. Can I extend it? Yes. People who already hold a Skilled Worker visa as a care worker or senior care worker can continue to extend in that role.

Can I bring my family if I switch to a care worker visa in the UK? Not as dependants, in most cases. If you're sponsored as a care worker or senior care worker, your partner and children can't switch to this visa or join you from abroad as your dependants, unless you've worked in the UK as a care worker on a Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa continuously since before 11 March 2024.

Are nursing jobs in the UK still open to people from abroad? Yes. Registered nursing roles are on GOV.UK's list of Health and Care Worker occupations you can apply for from outside the UK.