The Social Care Visa Scam

The social care visa scam is a scandal of epic proportions made worse by the inherent naivety in the planning and the failure of officials to see the obvious flaws in the scheme and anticipate the abuse that followed. David Neal, the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, blew the lid off the Home Office’s handling of the social care visa route since its inception in 2022. The visa was meant to plug a ‘labour gap’ in the care sector, but was instead hijacked by chancers and opportunists for their own gain. The government has promised to fix things, by stopping care workers from bringing dependants and making sure sponsors are better regulated. What a lame, pathetic response. We agree with the Migration Advisory Committee. The only solution is to pay British care workers more to attract the right calibre of people. In the long-run, it would be cheaper than importing tens of thousands of foreign workers. Pay more, improve conditions and you’ll not only improve the quality of care but also hang on to more staff.