UK Care Visa Ban Shuts Door on Zimbabweans

The UK has scrapped its Health and Care Worker visa (image source)

The United Kingdom’s abrupt closure of its Health and Care Worker visa route has sent shockwaves through Zimbabwe’s labour-export economy, threatening remittances that sustain households nationwide. Announced May 12 by the UK Home Office, the policy axed a key pathway through which over 15,700 Zimbabweans secured legal work in Britain in 2023.

Under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new immigration framework, net migration is set to fall from a 2022 peak of 672,000 to under 300,000 by 2028, with the care-worker visa among the first casualties.

“This move will push many into undocumented migration, exposing them to exploitation,” warned Nicholas Ngqabutho Mabhena, Chairperson of the Zimbabwean Community in South Africa. Informal recruiters already charge fees up to US$3,000, he added.

Manchester-based nurse Angeline Moyo described the scheme as a mixed blessing. “Zimbabwean care workers are highly sought after,” she said, “but illegal placement fees, overcrowded lodgings and mental-health crises are rampant.” She fears that closing the legal route will worsen conditions.

Back home, economic turmoil rages. Inflation hit 312% in August 2025, and the gold-backed ZiG currency struggles against the U.S. dollar. Remittances—US$1.9 billion in the first nine months of 2024—account for nearly 25% of household foreign-currency receipts, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

“Families rely on these inflows for school fees, healthcare and livelihoods,” said Bulawayo North MP Minenhle Gumede during a parliamentary debate. She urged Harare to engage London for exemptions or new bilateral labour agreements.

Since the early 2000s, Zimbabwean nurses have filled critical gaps in the UK’s NHS amid local skills shortages. The sudden policy shift now places both worker protections and healthcare delivery at risk.

Experts propose diversifying migration corridors—South Africa’s Critical Skills Work Visa and emerging Chinese labour pacts offer alternatives, but language barriers and logistical hurdles persist. Meanwhile, the Public Service Ministry’s skills registry plan remains at an early stage.

“Many will now turn to undocumented migration, risking exploitation and abuse,” said Mabhena, highlighting the human cost of closed legal routes.