Britain reveals brand-new restriction on overseas care workers

Care employee visa system dogged by abuse, exploitation

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New guidelines dash hopes in Zimbabwe, Nigeria

By Farai Shawn Matiashe and Nelson Chigozirim

MUTARE, Zimbabwe/LAGOS, June 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - W hen Loveness got a task deal from an English care company in March, the 32-year-old Zimbabwean believed her dreams of constructing a brand-new life abroad were lastly coming to life.

But simply weeks later, the company told her they could not continue because of brand-new guidelines requiring care providers to prioritise using workers currently in Britain.

Now the British federal government has stated it plans to stop the recruitment of abroad care workers entirely as part of sweeping migration reforms. Industry bodies fret the sector will have a hard time to supply quality care without foreign workers.

For Loveness, who did not want to offer her last name due to the level of sensitivity of the subject, the changes indicate an abrupt end to her hopes of escaping persistent unemployment in Zimbabwe.

"I had invested all my cash into this. And I was this close. Almost," she stated.

The British government introduced the new rules after reports, including by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, revealed widespread exploitation of foreign employees under the Health and Care Worker visa plan, initially introduced in 2022.

Many care employees were charged unlawful recruitment fees by their sponsors, some arrived in Britain to discover no work, while others stated they were dealt with like slaves.

The government has actually now stripped numerous rogue companies of their licences to sponsor foreign workers, however this has left those who had actually already been hired in requirement of brand-new tasks.

The British visa plan likewise spawned scams in countries like Zimbabwe, where fraudsters assured healthcare qualifications that never materialised and bogus sponsorships.

Loveness, who deals with her other half and child in Budiriro, a suburb of Harare, had actually already paid $3,000 to a recruitment agent to help her find an ideal care provider - a prevalent practice.

She also invested $555 on a tuberculosis test, cops check and an English language test, and another $300 to get a nurse assistant certificate from the Zimbabwe Red Cross in 2023.

She simply needed a certificate of sponsorship, an electronic record released by a certified employer, to secure a visa.

She has actually not told some of individuals who provided her cash to spend for these products that her quest has actually stopped working.

"I simply can not stand the shame."

'CRUEL' POLICY CHANGE

In 2022, Britain opened a new visa route for abroad employees to help fill more than 160,000 vacancies in the care sector following the COVID-19 pandemic and the nation's departure from the European Union.

Nearly 20,000 Zimbabweans were approved these UK visas in between 2021 and 2024, according to official figures.

Some Zimbabweans left jobs at banks and health centers to attempt to find work taking care of Britain's aging population. Loveness herself trained as an accountant.
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Bongani Mazwi Mkwananzi, executive secretary for media and publicity for the Africa Diaspora Forum, which represents Africans abroad, stated the UK care visa provided an uncommon, structured pathway to work and monetary stability.

"With domestic unemployment levels incredibly high and incomes well below the cost of living, the UK opportunity represented a beacon of hope," he stated.

Some had actually already seen their strategies rushed last year when Britain banned newly showing up care employees from bringing household with them.

Yotamu Mlauzi Chagwada, president of the Nurse Aides Association of Zimbabwe Trust, said the withdrawal of sponsorship offers had actually left some Zimbabweans sensation betrayed.

"Labelling this policy terrible may not be an overstatement, thinking about the monetary and psychological investments these caregivers made," he stated.

'DOOR SLAMMED SHUT'

Jane, who also did not wish to offer her last name, invested $800 on a TB test, authorities clearance, nurse aide certificate and English test.

When the brand-new restrictions were enforced, she was still raising cash to pay a recruitment company.

"It was unpleasant. I nearly sobbed. I lost all my money," stated Jane, from the city of Masvingo in southeastern Zimbabwe.

"I am now regretting it. It would have been much better if I had begun a company."

In Nigeria, the ban on abroad care workers is also causing dismay. An approximated 13,418 Nigerian care employees were to the UK in 2023 and 2024, representing 19% of the overall visas released for the sector.

Rita, a 31-year-old teacher living in Lagos state, spent months conserving for a healthcare course and paying an agent who assured to protect her a job and sponsorship.

"I seem like my world is falling apart," she said in a phone interview. "I've compromised a lot ... Now it seems like the door to the UK has actually been knocked shut."

Emmanuel, a 25-year-old nursing graduate, spent 6 months searching the internet to discover a task in Britain and lastly got an interview. And now the care service provider has fallen quiet.

"This is not the very first time we are hearing that the UK federal government desires to stop the care employee visa, however it looks like they suggest business this time," Emmanuel said.

"We have actually been glued to our screens, chasing every lead," he stated. "To finally get a deal and then hear this news - it's squashing."

For Loveness, there was one tiny piece of luck. Her hubby had actually provided to offer his cars and truck to pay the visa costs if she got a certificate of sponsorship. But he had not yet found a buyer.
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Loveness now works in a store in Harare, however her income does not even cover her lease.

"I still have not quit. If I get an opportunity to relocate to other countries like Australia, I will get it," she stated. (Additional reporting by Nelson Chigozirim in Lagos