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on February 5, 2024
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When, on Monday 4th December 2023, the UK Home Secretary James Cleverly set out an extensive plan aimed at – in the words of his department – “delivering the biggest ever reduction in net migration”, much controversy arose in response to his package of measures.
Much criticism of the multi-pronged proposals focused on big hikes in the minimum salary thresholds for foreign-national workers and family visa applicants. Such was the reaction, that just a few weeks later, the Government confirmed that the salary requirement rise for the latter group would occur in more gradual, incremental stages than had originally been announced.
However, another key element of the plan Mr Cleverly unveiled earlier that month, was a focus on driving down what the Government described as “the high numbers of dependants coming to the UK”.
The Health and Care Worker visa route was a point of focus for this in the Government’s proposals, with it being confirmed that overseas care workers would be prevented from bringing their dependants to the UK. The Government has said this change will be made “as soon as possible in the New Year”, expected to be the spring of 2024.
So, what is the “fine print” behind this major change to such a popular and vital visa category? And if you are a prospective applicant for or a current holder of this visa, what could the implications be for you?
Once the change takes effect (which, as we stated above, we anticipate will be sometime in the spring), care workers (SOC 6145) and senior care workers (SOC 6146) on the Health and Care Worker visa route will no longer be permitted to bring dependants when they migrate to the UK. In addition, social care firms in England that wish to sponsor applicants for care worker visas will need to be providing services regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
It is important to emphasise that these changes will only affect those employed on a Health and Care Worker visa on the above two occupation codes (SOCs); those applying for or holding this visa in relation to a job with another occupation code will not be impacted.
Nor will the Government’s other announced changes in its broader package of measures – such as the heightened salary thresholds – apply to the Health and Care Worker visa. Holders of this visa will still be exempt from paying the immigration health surcharge (IHS), too.
There are also some important details to note about what has changed. As the Home Office outlined in a factsheet published on 21st December, if you are a care worker or senior care worker who already holds a Health and Care Worker visa under the 6145 or 6146 SOC code, and you already have dependants with you in the UK, your dependants will be able to stay with you in the UK. This includes if you seek to extend this visa, apply to settle in the UK, or change employer (presuming that your change in employer doesn’t take you out of the above two occupation codes).
And of course, at the time of typing in January 2024, the change restricting dependants has not yet been introduced. So, if you apply now for a Health and Care Worker visa in relation to a job with the 6145 or 6146 SOC code, you will still be subject to the system that enables you bring your partner and/or children with you to the UK as your ‘dependants’, as long as they are eligible. We have provided more information on the current requirements later in this article.
In the event of you entering the Health and Care Worker visa route as a care worker or senior care worker before this change in the Immigration Rules, even if you haven’t brought any dependants with you by then, you will still be allowed to bring dependants with you during your sponsorship on this visa.
If, however, you are already in the UK as the holder of any other visa – even if that visa allows you to bring dependants to the UK – and you switch into the Health and Care Worker visa as a care worker or senior care worker after the change takes effect, you will not be permitted to stay with, or bring over, dependants. Again, this is according to the Home Office’s factsheet.
So, as you can see, there is a lot of “small print” to be pored over, when it comes to determining whether this latest change in relation to Health and Care Worker visa dependants will impact on you, and if so, what steps you might take in response to this. If you are looking to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa as someone who will be employed under the SOC code 6145 or 6146, and you are unsure about any aspect of satisfying the Home Office’s criteria for this route at the time you expect to submit your application, please feel free to reach out to our experts in UK immigration law. You can call our award-winning lawyers in central London on 0208 215 0053, or use our online contact form to arrange a free consultation with us.
The exact timeframe you can expect for your Health and Care Worker visa dependant application to be approved, will largely depend on whether you are applying from outside or inside the UK (in the case of the latter, you may be applying to extend an existing Health and Care Worker visa, or to switch from a different UK visa).
In the event that the dependant is submitting an application from outside the UK, and presuming they have not only applied online but also proved their identity and supplied the relevant documents, they can generally expect to get a decision within three weeks. For those applying from inside the UK, a wait of up to around eight weeks is more typical.
Whether you will be applying from inside or outside the UK, it might be possible for you to get the Home Office to make a decision sooner on your application.
You may be able to do this via the Home Office’s ‘priority’ service that will usually give you a decision within five working days (or soon afterwards), or a ‘super priority’ service, which will usually mean you receiving a decision by the end of the next working day (or soon afterwards).
However, you will need to have permission in order to use the ‘priority’ or ‘super priority’ service. Additional fees will also apply to the use of either of these services, on top of the normal application fee for this visa.
As we referenced above, the newly announced restriction on dependants for care workers and senior care workers who apply for the Health and Care Worker visa is yet to actually take effect, and is not expected to do so until the spring. So, if you wish to apply for this visa under either of the above-mentioned occupation codes prior to the change in rules, and subsequently bring dependants with you to the UK, what criteria will you need to satisfy?
You will, of course, need to meet the broader requirements for this visa, including (but not limited to) working in an eligible health or social care job, working for a Home Office-approved employer, and having a ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’ from that employer. It will also be necessary for you to be paid a certain minimum salary, although the exact amount will depend on the type of work you are to undertake in the UK.
Looking specifically to the requirements with regard to dependants on this visa route, your dependant partner or child can be any of the following:
When you apply to bring your dependant with you to the UK, it will be necessary for you to provide evidence of your relationship to them.
If, for example, the dependant in question is your partner, you must be able to prove you are in a marriage or civil partnership that is recognised in the UK, or that you have spent at least two years living together in a relationship by the time of your application for the visa.
As for if it is your child that you wish to join you in the UK as your dependant, this dependant must not be married or in a civil partnership. It will also be necessary for them to live with you, unless they’re living away from home in full-time education, such as at boarding school or university.
The Home Office will also expect you to provide evidence of your child dependant’s address; examples of potentially admissible evidence include a bank statement, driving licence, credit card bills, an NHS registration document, and/or an official letter from their college or university.
These are just some of the criteria that you will need to meet in the event that you wish your dependant child or partner to join you in the UK. Our skilled and knowledgeable specialists in UK immigration law at Cranbrook Legal can advise and assist with the process of meeting such requirements; simply call 0208 215 0053 to learn more about how we could work together.
When an application is submitted from outside the UK for a dependant on the Health and Care Worker visa route, it will be necessary for a Home Office application fee to be paid. The level of the fee will depend on how long the dependant will be in the UK:
The above are not the only costs associated with the Health and Care dependant visa. This is because it will also be expected that the dependant partner or child has a certain amount of money available to support themselves during their time in the UK. The required amount is:
So, someone who wishes to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa for the UK as a worker in a relevant role will need to budget the above for any dependants they bring with them to the UK. They will also need to pay the application fee for their own visa, and to have £1,270 available to support themselves when they arrive in the UK on this visa.
If the partner or child dependant will be applying at a different time to the main holder of the Health and Care Worker visa, they will only need to prove they have sufficient money to support themselves if they have spent less than one year in the UK.
In a fast-moving environment in which it might seem that important changes are constantly being announced in relation to key UK visa categories, we can understand you feeling confused or unsure about the exact requirements for your own intended visa route to the UK.
Furthermore, if you intend to migrate to the UK as a care worker or senior care worker on the Health and Care Worker visa and wish to bring dependants, you may be anxious to prepare and submit your visa application relatively quickly, while the “old” rules are still in place.
Here at Cranbrook Legal, our award-winning, knowledgeable, and experienced specialists in UK immigration law constantly keep up to date with the latest developments. This, combined with the in-depth expertise and resources we already have, enables us to give our clients the benefit of the complete project-managed service, managing their visa application from start to finish.
If you would like to learn more about how we can advise and assist you with your application for this visa for a highly competitive pre-agreed fixed fee, please reach out to us today for a free consultation. You can use our online contact form or call us on 0208 215 0053.
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