Health and Care Worker Visa for Zimbabweans: NHS and Social Care Recruitment, Sponsorship and Rights

Zimbabwe has become one of the most significant source countries for health and care workers entering the UK through the Health and Care Worker visa route. Between 2021 and 2024, nearly 20,000 Zimbabweans were granted these visas, with the year ending September 2023 alone seeing 21,130 grants — a 169% increase on the previous year. In 2025, 841 Zimbabwean nationals received UK work visas via the Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker routes, with approximately 75% (around 630 grants) coming through the Health and Care Worker path. Care workers and home carers remained the single largest occupation at 415 grants, followed by social workers (75), senior care workers (41), and registered nurses and medical practitioners accounting for a further 45 grants combined. The Health and Care Worker visa is a sub-category of the Skilled Worker route. It is specifically designed for qualified doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and adult social care workers. Compared to the standard Skilled Worker visa, it offers reduced application fees, exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), and faster processing times — significant savings given that IHS currently runs into thousands of pounds for multi-year applications. **Who qualifies as an eligible employer** To secure this visa, an applicant must hold a job offer from one of the following: an NHS body, an NHS contractor, or a Care Quality Commission (CQC)-registered adult social care provider that holds a Home Office sponsor licence. Not all care employers are licensed, and only occupations on the Health and Care Worker eligible occupation list qualify for the route's benefits. NHS Trusts — acute, mental health, and community — are the most straightforward sponsors. Private hospital groups including Nuffield Health, Spire, and Ramsay Health Care also hold licences and recruit internationally. For care home and specialist care roles, it is essential to verify sponsor licence status before investing in applications. Useful job search starting points include NHS Jobs (jobs.nhs.uk) and the official UK Government sponsor register. The Home Office maintains a searchable list of licensed sponsors, which anyone can check to confirm an employer's legitimacy before paying for any documentation. **The application process step by step** The process begins with securing a job offer. Once an eligible employer confirms the role, they issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) — an electronic record containing the employer's details, your job title, salary, and occupation code. You have three months from the date of issue to submit your visa application. Your visa application must include: the CoS reference number; proof of English language proficiency at CEFR Level B1 or above (typically IELTS or the Occupational English Test for nurses); a valid passport; your job title, salary and occupation code; and the employer's sponsor licence number. Additional documentation frequently required includes a criminal record certificate from any country where you have lived for 12 or more months in the past 10 years, and proof of a negative tuberculosis (TB) test — a mandatory requirement for Zimbabwean nationals. You must also demonstrate that you hold at least £1,270 in your bank account for a continuous 28-day period within the 30 days before you apply. If your employer is willing to cover your first month's expenses, they can confirm this on the CoS and the personal savings requirement is waived. For nurses specifically, registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is required. This is a separate process involving an overseas nursing programme, English language testing, and a period of supervised practice or computer-based testing known as the NMC CBT. **Dependants: critical rule changes from March 2024** From 11 March 2024, new applicants in care worker and senior care worker roles (SOC codes 6145 and 6146) can no longer bring partners or children to the UK as dependants. This was one of the most consequential changes for Zimbabwean families, as many had planned to migrate with spouses and children. Workers already in those roles before the cutoff date retain transition protections, including when switching to a new CQC-registered sponsor. For nurses, doctors, allied health professionals, and other eligible Health and Care Worker occupations outside codes 6145 and 6146, dependants continue to be permitted under standard rules. The additional funds required for dependants in those categories are: £285 for a partner, £315 for a first child, and £200 for each additional child. **Further significant changes: care workers removed from the route in 2025** On 22 July 2025, care worker and senior care worker roles (codes 6145 and 6146) were removed from the Skilled Worker route entirely as part of the UK government's broader immigration reforms. This effectively closed the standard international recruitment pathway for new care worker applicants from Zimbabwe and other overseas countries. The UK government has indicated it plans to end overseas care worker recruitment as part of wider reform. Industry bodies have raised serious concerns about the impact on an already strained social care sector. This is an important distinction: nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals remain on the shortage occupation framework and continue to be actively recruited. The route for carers specifically has been closed to new international entrants. **Settlement and proposed changes to ILR timelines** The Health and Care Worker visa provides a pathway to settlement. Under current rules, applicants become eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after five years of continuous residence. However, proposed reforms that were under consultation in early 2025 would extend the qualifying period to 10 years for most migrants, and to 15 years for care workers — a change that generated significant alarm among the Zimbabwean diaspora community already in the UK on this route. **Avoiding scams** A significant number of Zimbabweans have lost money to fraudulent agents and fake job offers. No legitimate UK employer charges workers a recruitment fee. Certificates of Sponsorship can only be issued by employers on the Home Office's register, which is publicly searchable at gov.uk. If anyone is asking for upfront payment to 'guarantee' a visa or job offer, that is a scam. Applications should only be submitted through the official UK Visas and Immigration system at gov.uk.