Health and Care Worker Visa scheme expansion: opportunities for Care Workers

The Home Office announced on 24^th Dec 2021 that social care workers, care assistants and home care workers will be eligible to apply for a Health and Care Worker Visa. This is a temporary measure to respond to the staff shortages in the social care sector caused by the ongoing Covid pandemic pressures in the UK.

The applicants will be benefited from fast-track processing. They will also be able to bring dependent partners and children under this Health and Care Worker visa scheme. However, applicants need to meet the £20,480 annual minimum salary requirement to qualify for the Health and Care Worker Visa.

This temporary measure is expected to come into effect in early 2022, and will be in place for a minimum of a 12 month period, published by the Department of Health and Social Care. Please stay tuned, Work Permit Cloud Limited will share the news with you once more details about this measure comes into place.

What does a care worker mean?

According to National Careers Service UK, care workers help vulnerable people to manage their daily activities and to live as independently as possible. Care workers can work in a care home, in people’s own homes, in Nursing Homes, or in care centre organisations. They may also work in the evenings or weekends on shifts.

There are different ways to get into a care worker role. You can get into a care worker role through a college course, an apprenticeship, volunteering, or applying directly. More information about care worker job responsibilities can be found here.

Job titles for care workers

Care assistants, support workers, nursing home assistants are the common titles for care worker roles. The UK will add Standard occupation code (SOC) 6145 roles to the shortage occupation list, and these roles will be added into the scope of the Health & Care Worker Visa scheme expansion. According to Office for National Statistics (ONS), the job titles are Care Assistant, Care Worker, Carer, Home Care Assistant, home care and support workers (Nursing Home).

What is Health and Care Worker Visa?

According to UKVI, a Health and Care Worker Visa allows medical professionals to enter or stay in the UK to work with the NHS, an NHS supplier or in adult social care.

What are the requirements of a Health and Care worker Visa?

1. must be a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional
2. work in eligible health or social care job, the eligible occupation code for this visa can be found here
3. need to have a job offer from the NHS, or an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or an organisation providing adult social care
4. have a Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) from your employer with information about the role you’ve been offered in the UK
5. be paid a minimum annual salary of £20,480
6. meet the English requirement, at least level B1 on the CEFR scale, more information about English requirements can be found here.

What are the benefits of a Health & Care Worker visa?

• You’ll be eligible for a visa fee reduction, it will cost £247 per person if you apply for 3 years visa, which is almost half of the Skilled Worker Visa fees £625.
• Under Health and Care Worker visa scheme, you do not need to pay for the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), whereas in the Skilled worker route, applicants need to pay £624 per year for the HIS fee.
• You’ll be eligible for a fasttrack processing service, which usually takes 3 weeks to get a decision, which is much faster than Skilled Worker Visa processing time (8 weeks).
• Health and Care Worker visa can lead to settlement in the UK after 5 years of staying
• Applicants under this visa can bring dependents and children to the UK

How can employers take advantage of this Health & Care worker visa scheme?

Employers in the social care sector who want to recruit overseas care workers need to have a valid sponsor licence. If you do not already have one, you need to apply for a sponsor licence before hiring a care worker under this visa.

How can Work Permit Cloud Limited help?

At WorkPermitCloud Limited, we have a dedicated team to assist you in your sponsorship application and visa application process. We also offer professional immigration advice regulated by Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). Our Founder and Managing Director Md Lutfur Rahman (FCILEx) has more than 20 years of experience in sponsorship licences management and immigration services.

If you have any questions in relation to the Health and Care Worker visa or want to discuss your specific situation with us, please feel free to contact us at info@workpermitcloud.co.uk

Reference:

https://www.gov.uk/health-care-worker-visa

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-visa-boost-for-social-care-as-health-and-care-visa-scheme-expanded

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59785227

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-offer-visas-care-workers-12-months-2021-12-24/

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/care-worker