Care Worker Sponsorship from Overseas Is Closed — What You Can Do Instead

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Introduction

We need to be direct with you about care jobs UK visa sponsorship: new sponsorship for care workers (SOC 6135) and senior care workers (SOC 6136) applying from overseas ended on 22 July 2025. This site will not list overseas care worker sponsorship jobs because they no longer exist as a route into the UK. If someone is offering you overseas care worker sponsorship today for a fee, that is a warning sign, not an opportunity. This page explains what closed, who may still have options, and the genuine alternatives that remain.

What Exactly Closed on 22 July 2025?

From 22 July 2025, employers can no longer sponsor new care workers (SOC 6135) or senior care workers (SOC 6136) who are applying from outside the UK under the Health and Care Worker / Skilled Worker routes.

This change:

• Applies to new overseas applications for those two occupation codes
• Does not erase the visas of care workers already in the UK — different rules apply to them (see below)
• Does not apply to every care-related job — occupation codes matter (see the NHS healthcare assistant section)

Do not rely on old adverts, old YouTube videos, or agents still marketing this route. They are out of date.

Who May Be Excepted? Transitional Rules

Immigration rule changes usually include transitional arrangements for some people already in the system — for example, those already in the UK in sponsored care roles, or with applications / Certificates of Sponsorship from before the change date.

Overseas entry clearance for care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136) closed on 22 July 2025: on GOV.UK those codes now appear only under extend, update and switch on the Health and Care Worker route — they are no longer open to new applicants from outside the UK. Care workers already in the UK can still extend, update or switch sponsor. Dependants: a care worker can only bring a partner or children if they have been continually employed as a care worker on a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa since before 11 March 2024, the child was born in the UK, they are the sole living parent, or the child's other parent is also a sponsored care worker.

Until that check is published here, treat any claimed "exception" an agent sells you with extreme caution and verify it on GOV.UK yourself or with a regulated immigration adviser (OISC / IAA-registered).

If You Are Already in the UK: The Switching Route

The closure is for overseas recruitment. Care workers already in the UK may still be able to:

• Extend with the same sponsor, under transitional provisions
• Switch to a new sponsor from inside the UK, where the rules allow it

In-UK switching is a separate route with its own conditions — including, in recent rules, a requirement to have been working for the sponsor for a period before switching To switch to a new sponsor in a 6135 or 6136 role you must have been working legally in the UK for that sponsor for at least 3 months immediately before the application date (this condition is waived for workers whose last Skilled Worker permission was in 6135/6136 and who have held continuous Skilled Worker permission since)..

Read our dedicated switching guide linked below before making any move, and never leave a current sponsor until the new application position is clear.

The Different Route: Healthcare Assistants — SOC 6131

Healthcare assistants are a different occupation code — SOC 6131 — and must not be confused with care workers (6135) or senior care workers (6136).

• SOC 6131 roles are mainly healthcare support roles, most commonly in the NHS and hospital settings
• Sponsorship for SOC 6131 under the Health and Care Worker route remains a live route where the employer, role, and salary rules are met Other care-adjacent roles are unaffected by the closure: nursing auxiliaries and assistants (SOC 6131) remain eligible for new Health and Care Worker applications, including from overseas. The salary rule is the Health and Care Worker basis: at least £25,000 per year or the occupation's going rate if higher, with NHS-role going rates taken from the national pay-scales table.
• A care home job does not become SOC 6131 by changing its title — the actual duties decide the code, and misusing a code risks refusal and sponsor action

If you have hospital / clinical support experience, the NHS healthcare assistant path is the genuine alternative to explore — see the link below.

Other Honest Alternatives to Consider

• Other eligible occupations: If you qualify in a different eligible Skilled Worker occupation (for example, another health, technical, or professional role), that route is assessed on its own merits
• Student / Graduate routes: For those genuinely coming to study, with their own costs and rules — not a shortcut into care work
• Family or other UK routes: Only where you genuinely qualify — take regulated advice

What is not an alternative: entering as a visitor to work, or working for a care employer without the right visa. That risks removal and a future ban, and harms your chances permanently.

Scam Warning: Overseas Care Sponsorship Is Now a Top Scam Theme

Since the closure, the most common scam we see is:

• Adverts and agents still selling "care worker visa UK — guaranteed" packages
• Charges for a Certificate of Sponsorship, "licence slot", or training you must buy first
• Fake care home names copied from the sponsor register

Rule: Anyone selling overseas sponsorship for SOC 6135/6136 after 22 July 2025 is a red flag. Buying a CoS is never legitimate. See our full scams guide below.

What to Do Next — A Practical Checklist

If you arrived here hoping for care sponsorship from overseas:

• [ ] Stop any payment to an agent for SOC 6135/6136 overseas sponsorship
• [ ] Check whether your experience fits SOC 6131 healthcare support (NHS) instead — duties, not title
• [ ] If you are already in the UK, read the switching guide before changing any job
• [ ] Verify any employer who contacts you on the sponsor register yourself
• [ ] Get regulated advice (IAA / OISC-registered) if you have a complex history or a pending application

We know this is disappointing news if care work was your plan. A clear no now protects your money and your future UK chances far better than a false yes that ends in a refusal or a scam.

FAQs

Can a UK care home still sponsor me from overseas if they really want to hire me? No — for SOC 6135/6136, employer willingness does not override the rule change. From 22 July 2025, new overseas sponsorship for those codes is closed.

I am a care worker already in the UK. Do I have to leave? Not because of this change alone. People already in the UK are covered by separate extension / switching provisions If you are already in the UK as a care worker or senior care worker, the overseas closure does not remove your route: GOV.UK still provides for workers in SOC 6135/6136 to extend their visa, update it when changing employer, and switch into the route from another visa — subject to the 3-months-working-for-the-sponsor condition when changing sponsor (row 30).. Get advice before changing employer.

Is a healthcare assistant the same as a care worker? No. Healthcare assistant is SOC 6131, a distinct occupation mainly in the NHS. Care worker is SOC 6135. The duties, settings, and current sponsorship position are different.

Internal Links

• Explore NHS healthcare assistant jobs with visa sponsorship (SOC 6131)
• Read the guide to switching your sponsor inside the UK
• Understand switching sponsors in detail — Guide 8
• Learn to spot visa sponsorship scams and fake care offers