Despite government efforts to curb family migration, migrant care workers continue to bring a significant number of dependants to the UK. In the year ending March 2026, the Home Office granted 12 health and care visas to workers from Cameroon, but issued 180 visas to their family members, a ratio of 15 dependants per worker.
Similar patterns were observed for other nationalities. Ghanaians saw over eight dependants per care worker visa, while Bangladeshis and Indians had ratios of more than five and four dependants, respectively. These figures follow a period where the Home Office banned care workers from bringing family members in 2024, a restriction later extended to all migrant workers not in jobs requiring a degree or higher.
However, individuals who obtained visas before these curbs were implemented are still permitted to bring dependants to the UK. The skilled-worker visa system was initially introduced after Brexit to address labor shortages. Since its launch in December 2020 through the end of 2024, 1.18 million people applied for these visas, including 630,000 dependants.
A parliamentary report last year highlighted widespread abuse of the skilled-worker visa system, raising concerns that the Home Office lacked oversight on how many migrants overstayed their permits. Previous reports by the Daily Mail have detailed scams involving the sale of care jobs, with promises of facilitating visa applications and family reunification for migrant workers.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticized the ongoing situation, stating that while the previous Conservative government was right to restrict care visas, the current figures indicate that dependants are still arriving in large numbers. He called for urgent measures to stop this.
A Home Office spokesperson acknowledged the figures, suggesting that many dependants may be joining relatives who arrived in the UK years prior. The spokesperson added that the government has implemented significant measures to reduce the number of dependants, which have contributed to an 82 percent decrease in overall net migration over three years.