The ban, which came into force yesterday, was announced by the Home Office in May as part of the Government's aim to bring down historically high levels of net migration. 

Kevin Edwards, director of Gwynedd-based Meddyg Care, which runs two care homes in Porthmadog and Cricieth and specialises in dementia care, said the ban could have a ‘potentially devastating impact', forcing care homes and domiciliary care homes to close and placing additional pressure on NHS services.

Edwards called on the First Minister to put pressure on the Westminster Government to either reverse the policy or introduce a transitional scheme for critical workers in social care.

In his letter to the First Minister, Edwards urged more investment in training and pay levels to attract and retain local workers and also called for stronger measures to safeguard international workers from exploitation.

With 15% of registered care workers in Wales born outside the UK, figures show a ban on care workers bringing dependants, which was implemented in March 2024, has led to an 83% decline in visa applications, with monthly applications dropping from 129,000 to 26,000 in a year.

Care Forum Wales chair Mario Kreft said the ‘ill-thought through policy' was ‘counter-intuitive because there's no point investing in the NHS unless you fund social care properly'.

‘If you don't fix social care you can't fix the NHS,' Kreft added.

The Welsh Government said: ‘We value our overseas social care workers in Wales and we are working at pace with the UK Government and other key stakeholders to explore redeployment options for displaced overseas workers, supporting both care providers and workers in Wales.

‘We wrote to the UK Government on 4 June outlining our assessment of the Immigration White Paper. We highlighted its likely impact on Wales - particularly on social care - and stressed the need for meaningful engagement and consequential funding to support any transitionary period.'