The Immigration White Paper, to be published in Parliament, will include the change as the government takes action to bring down historically high levels of net migration.  

A government crackdown on rogue care providers has seen around 40,000 workers displaced, many of whom are ready to rejoin the workforce. They will now be given the opportunity to do the jobs they were promised, while long-term plans are drawn up to train homegrown talent into the care sector, the government said. 

International workers who are already sponsored to work legally in the sector will be able to continue to extend their stay, change sponsors and apply to settle, including those who need to switch employers following a sponsor licence revocation.

A statement said: ‘This government is committed to tackling these issues and has committed to establishing Fair Pay Agreements which will empower worker, employer and other sector representatives to negotiate improvements in the terms of employment. This builds on the announcement in January of the expansion of the Care Workforce Pathway which will support the adult social care sector to professionalise the workforce.

‘Together, these measures will move the UK away from a dependence on overseas workers to fulfil our care needs. Baroness Casey has also begun work on an independent commission into adult social care – a once in a generation opportunity to transcend party politics and build consensus on the future of the sector.'

Reaction

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: ‘This is a crushing blow to an already fragile sector. The Government is kicking us while we're already down.

‘For years, the sector has been propping itself up with dwindling resources, rising costs, and mounting vacancies. International recruitment wasn't a silver bullet, but it was a lifeline. Taking it away now, with no warning, no funding, and no alternative, is not just short-sighted - it's cruel.'

He added: ‘Once again, social care is being sacrificed to score political points. There's a dangerous pattern emerging; action is too slow where it's needed, and too fast when it's harmful. The sector cannot take any more. We need proper funding, a real workforce plan, and immediate recognition that without care, the NHS, our communities, and countless families will fall apart.'

Danny Mortimer co-chair of the Cavendish Coalition and chief executive of NHS Employers, said: 'Whilst the government has set out improvements it intends to make to improve domestic supply and retention for the social care workforce, they are still some way from full implementation. The Cavendish Coalition of social care and health organisations would therefore urge caution and patience in any changes so that we can all work together to ensure that the social care sector is in as strong a place as possible for the longer term.'

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: ‘The NHS and the care sector would have collapsed long ago without the thousands of workers who've come to the UK from overseas.

‘Migrant health and care staff already here will now be understandably anxious about what's to happen to them. The government must reassure these overseas workers they'll be allowed to stay and continue with their indispensable work.'

She added: ‘The government must get on with making its fair pay agreement a reality and ensure social care is funded properly.

‘So long as care wages stay barely above the legal minimum, employers will never be able to recruit the staff needed to deliver a national care service of which we can all be proud.'