I Refugio Feb 9, 2022 2:37:35 PM 8 min read

Care Assistants Now Added to the UK Shortage Occupation List

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On 24th January 2022, the Home Office has added the role of care assistants to the UK’s shortage occupation list. This shall take effect on the 15th of February 2022.   

What this means to all care providers is that they can fill their workforce gaps by employing more migrants from outside the UK.   

Following Brexit and Covid-19, the health and social care system has been under high pressure because of the growing demand for care workers. In an attempt to fulfil current healthcare needs, the Home Office has announced that it will soon open new occupation codes for care workers and care assistants.   

This is something we have been looking forward to for the past few months, and on 24th January 2022, the House of Commons released a new order, published in the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC1019).  

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Under the new health and care visa rules, care workers will be eligible for a UK sponsorship starting 15 February 2022 so long as they meet the eligibility requirements for job code 6145 for care workers and home carers.   

Other related job titles include Care Assistant, Carer, Care Worker, Support Worker, Homecare assistant, and Home Carer. Refer to the table below for more info:   

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A care worker must receive a minimum job offer that is equal to, £20,480 per or £10.10 per hour, whichever the highest.  

The application fee for care workers who have been assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship and are expected to work in the UK for 3 years or less, is £232. The application fee for those who will be staying and working in the UK for 3 years or more is £464.   

There are two main qualifications for a UK sponsorship under this new job code:

1. The home carer must be sponsored by an organisation that has a sponsorship license. This means that the UK employer must meet sponsorship eligibility requirements set by the Home Office.   

2. The home carer must provide a criminal record certificate from any country they reside in for the past 12 months or more for the last 10 years, while aged 18 or over.  

Only after all of these requirements are met can sponsored care assistants progress with their UK application.  

 

Are you a care provider? With the care assistant role now open to fill healthcare gaps, you can now get the full advantage of getting a sposnorship license. If you want to know more about this and how it can impact your business, book a call with our expert team now.   

 

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