.png)
Senior care workers, classified under SOC code 6136, supervise care teams and provide hands-on care in residential homes, nursing homes and domiciliary settings. The rules for sponsoring them changed significantly in 2025, so here is where things stand now.
Important: you can no longer sponsor a senior care worker from overseas. Since 22 July 2025 the care worker and senior care worker routes have been closed to new overseas applicants. You can only sponsor someone who is already in the UK, and only until 22 July 2028, when the route is due to close completely.
Who can still be sponsored as a senior care worker?
From 22 July 2025, a care provider in England can assign a Certificate of Sponsorship for a senior care worker only to someone already in the UK who has been on your payroll, working for you legally in the same role, for at least three months before you assign it. Recruiting from overseas is no longer possible. These transitional arrangements run until 22 July 2028.
You must also be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to sponsor care roles in England. The April 2025 rule still applies too: try to recruit from care workers already in England who need a new sponsor before looking elsewhere.
Salary requirements
A sponsored senior care worker must be paid at least £25,000 a year, or £12.82 an hour, or the going rate for the role, whichever is higher. The old Immigration Salary List discount that reduced this threshold no longer applies to care roles. Use our minimum salary calculator to check an offer.
What it costs to sponsor a senior care worker
Senior care workers are sponsored on the Health and Care Worker visa, which costs less than the standard Skilled Worker route:
- Sponsor licence: £611 for small or charitable sponsors, £1,682 for medium or large, from 8 April 2026.
- Certificate of Sponsorship: £525 per CoS.
- Immigration Skills Charge: not payable for Health and Care Worker visa roles.
- Health and Care Worker visa fee: £324 for up to three years, £628 for over three years, from 8 April 2026.
- Immigration Health Surcharge: not payable, as Health and Care Worker visa holders are exempt.
Automate Home Office Audits with Borderless
The Borderless platform provides a centralized system for all sponsorships, automating reminders for key tasks and ensuring best practices across your organization, simplifying audit preparation and ongoing compliance.
How to sponsor a senior care worker who is already in the UK
The process now applies only to in-country candidates.
Step 1: Hold a sponsor licence and CQC registration. You need a sponsor licence and, in England, CQC registration. We can handle the licence application for you, and the fees and timing are in our sponsor licence fees guide.
Step 2: Assign an Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship. Because the worker is already in the UK, you assign an Undefined CoS, confirming they have been on your payroll for at least three months in the same role.
Step 3: The worker applies for the Health and Care Worker visa. They apply to switch or extend, paying the lower fee with no Immigration Health Surcharge. See our Health and Care Worker visa guide.
Right to work checks
Run a right to work check before they start. Most sponsored workers hold an eVisa, so you check their status online using a share code rather than a physical document. See the right to work check guide.
After hiring: your compliance duties
Keep accurate records and report changes through the Sponsor Management System. Falling short of your sponsor licence duties can lead to a downgrade or revocation. The Home Office watches the care sector closely, and CQC compliance is checked too.
How Borderless helps
We help care providers sponsor compliantly, from the sponsor licence to the Certificate of Sponsorship and ongoing Home Office compliance. See our health and care page, or book a demo.
