Care Sector Sponsor Licence Revocations Hit Record Levels in 2026
21 Jul 2026
If you are on a Health and Care Worker visa working in adult social care, this affects you. New figures reported by Free Movement on 15 July 2026 show that in the first quarter of 2026, the Home Office suspended 1,712 sponsor licences and revoked 1,545, with care providers among those hit hardest.
Losing your employer's sponsor licence does not mean you lose your right to work straight away. GOV.UK guidance on the support offer for international adult social care workers confirms that affected workers "continue to have the right to work in the UK until their visa is officially curtailed." There is no fixed deadline forcing you to find a new job overnight, but you should act as soon as you can. In England, a regional support offer for adult social care workers gives affected staff advice on their visa status and employment rights, help finding a new employer who can sponsor their visa, financial support for job loss or unpaid wages, and wellbeing support including buddying schemes.
If your employer's licence has been suspended or revoked, check the register of licensed sponsors before you accept any new job offer, so you know the employer can actually sponsor you. Never pay a recruitment agency or employer a fee to get sponsorship, this is not allowed. If you are owed wages or have other employment rights concerns, contact Acas or Citizens Advice. If you are struggling financially because of job loss, you may be able to ask for the no recourse to public funds condition on your visa to be lifted. If you cannot secure new sponsorship, get specialist immigration advice on whether another visa route could work for you.
This support offer currently covers adult social care workers in England only, since social care policy is devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland separately.
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