UK Visa Sponsorship and the Health and Care Worker Visa: What Zimbabwean NHS and Care Workers Need to Know

Nearly 20,000 Zimbabweans were granted Health and Care Worker visas between 2021 and 2024, making this one of the most significant migration pathways from Zimbabwe to the UK in recent history. However, the landscape has shifted dramatically since 2024, and anyone planning to use this route must understand both what remains available and what has fundamentally changed. ## The Two Separate Tracks: Nurses vs Care Workers The Health and Care Worker Visa covers two distinct groups of people who are now treated very differently under UK immigration rules. **Registered nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals** still have a broadly functional route to the UK. NHS trusts and private healthcare providers continue to recruit internationally qualified Zimbabwean nurses, particularly for acute care, mental health, learning disabilities, and community nursing roles. In 2025, 841 Zimbabwean nationals received Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visas — 630 of them through the Health and Care Worker route — though this represented a 68% drop compared to 2024, reflecting the wider tightening of immigration policy. **Care workers and senior care workers** face a far more restricted situation. From 22 July 2025, overseas recruitment for these roles was effectively closed to new applicants from abroad. This followed an earlier restriction introduced in March 2024 banning new care worker visa holders from bringing partners or children as dependants. The door that opened in 2022 to fill more than 160,000 post-pandemic, post-Brexit vacancies has largely been shut again, with the government citing exploitation of workers and a desire to reduce net migration. ## The Zimbabwe-Specific Complication In 2023, the UK government added Zimbabwe to a list of countries from which active NHS recruitment is restricted for certain professional groups. This reflects recognition of Zimbabwe's own healthcare workforce challenges — the UK does not want to be seen as systematically stripping countries of health workers they cannot afford to lose. In practice, this means NHS trusts are expected to apply safeguards when running country-level recruitment campaigns targeting Zimbabwe directly. Some trusts have paused such campaigns. However, this restriction does not prevent individual Zimbabwean nurses from applying for advertised NHS posts, and private healthcare providers and care homes are not subject to the same rules. The route is navigable; it simply requires approaching it correctly. ## Salary and Eligibility Thresholds for 2026 For roles outside the care worker category, the standard Skilled Worker visa salary threshold is £41,700 or the going rate for the specific occupation code (whichever is higher). The Health and Care Worker Visa retains its key financial advantage: applicants and their eligible dependants are exempt from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge, which for a five-year visa can otherwise amount to thousands of pounds. Visa application fees are £324 for a certificate of sponsorship issued for three years or less, and £628 for over three years. ## Dependants: A Critical Change for Families For nurses and allied health professionals, dependants (partners and children) can still join them in the UK under the Health and Care Worker Visa, subject to meeting standard eligibility requirements. For care workers and senior care workers, the position is much more complicated. Since 11 March 2024, new overseas care workers generally cannot bring partners or children with them. An exception applies for those who were continuously employed in the UK as a care worker on a Health and Care or Skilled Worker visa before that date. Dependants already in the UK before the rule change were permitted to stay, though the position at visa renewal remains unclear. The practical consequence is stark. Workers who cannot bring their families face difficult choices: leave children behind indefinitely, or forgo the migration altogether. Organisations representing care workers have described the policy as causing family separation and, for those who relied on a dependant's additional income, financial hardship. ## For Those Who Have Already Invested in the Process Some Zimbabweans have spent significant sums — on tuberculosis tests, police clearance certificates, English language tests, and nurse aide qualifications — only to find the route closed before they could obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship. There is no formal compensation or refund mechanism for these costs. If you are in this position and held a valid job offer from a licensed sponsor before the July 2025 closure, it is worth taking specialist immigration advice quickly, as transitional provisions may still apply in limited circumstances. ## Practical Steps for Zimbabwean Nurses Pursuing the UK Route For registered nurses and midwives, the process still works as follows. You must first register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which involves an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and, for most Zimbabwean nurses, a Computer-Based Test (CBT) taken in Zimbabwe or a neighbouring country. NMC registration alone can take six to twelve months. Once registered or provisionally registered, you need a job offer from a Home Office licensed sponsor — an NHS trust or eligible private provider. That employer then issues a Certificate of Sponsorship, which anchors the visa application. The most important step is verifying that a prospective employer is a genuine, licensed sponsor before investing money in any part of the process. The Home Office publishes a register of licensed sponsors online. Recruitment agencies should never charge workers fees for securing employment. ## Looking Ahead The UK government has signalled broader plans to reduce overall net migration, and the care sector may face further changes. The long-term picture for NHS nurse recruitment from Zimbabwe is more stable, but the Zimbabwe-restriction designation means that individual applications — rather than mass employer campaigns — are likely the primary route. Anyone considering this pathway in 2026 should consult both the Home Office guidance and, where possible, a regulated UK immigration adviser before committing significant financial resources.