New Care Worker Recruitment Requirement in England from 9 April 2025: What Sponsors Need to Know

Today, the Home Office has updated its official guidance to reflect important changes to the Skilled Worker visa route for care workers and senior care workers in England. If you’re a sponsor looking to hire care workers under occupation codes 6135 or 6136, these changes are significant – and failing to comply could lead to application refusals or even licence revocation.

What is the New Care Worker Recruitment Requirement?

From 9 April 2025, the new Care Worker Recruitment Requirement applies when you wish to sponsor a care worker or senior care worker to work in England only, and either:

• The worker is applying from outside the UK, or
• They are inside the UK, but do not meet one of the limited exceptions set out in paragraph SK4.29 of the Immigration Rules.

If this applies to your situation, you must first engage with your local Regional Care Partnership (RCP) and attempt to recruit from the ‘displaced worker pool’ before assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).

What Is a Regional Care Partnership and the Displaced Worker Pool?

• A Regional Care Partnership is a government-backed group established to help reduce exploitation in international care staff recruitment.
• The Displaced Worker Pool is a list of workers in the UK who:
  • Were last sponsored under codes 6135 or 6136 (or older equivalents 6145/6146)
  • Require new sponsorship due to sponsor licence loss, insufficient work, or other qualifying reasons.

You can find contact details for your local RCP through the official government link provided in the updated sponsor guidance.

Step-by-Step: Complying with the Requirement

1. Contact your Regional Care Partnership
They will provide contact details of displaced workers in your area.

2. Assess suitability
You must personally assess any displaced workers’ qualifications or experience. The RCP cannot do this for you. You remain the decision maker as to who you employ. 

3. Keep thorough records
Retain evidence of your assessment, as per Appendix D of the sponsor guidance.

4. Outcome A – You hire a displaced worker

5. Outcome B – No suitable displaced worker

• Ask the RCP to confirm to UKVI that you engaged with them.
• When assigning or requesting a CoS, include
• Name of the RCP(s) you contacted
• Confirmation that no suitable displaced worker was found.

Failure to include this information may result in:

• Rejection of Defined/Undefined CoS requests,
• Visa refusal, or
• Licence revocation if false or misleading claims are made.

Who Is Exempt?

You do not need to meet the Care Worker Recruitment Requirement if the worker:

• Is in the UK, and
• Was last granted permission as a Skilled Worker under codes 6135/6136 (or equivalent), or
• Has already been working for you in a care role on a different visa for at least three months before their application.

This requirement also does not apply if the worker will not be working solely in England.

If an exemption applies, make this clear in the CoS – either in the job description or via a sponsor note – to avoid refusal.

Our Thoughts

The introduction of this requirement marks a major shift in the care sector’s recruitment process. It aims to better support care workers already in the UK who have been displaced while also improving ethical recruitment standards.

If you're unsure how to comply, or want help assessing whether a worker is exempt, we can help. Our team supports sponsors with practical, regulated advice to navigate Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker visa sponsorship, compliance, and visa processes confidently.

You can read the full official guidance in full HERE.

Need advice or support with the new requirement?
Contact us today or schedule a free consultation to understand how these changes may impact your recruitment plans.