Can I apply as a senior care worker instead of a care worker to get around the closure?

No. Both occupations closed to overseas applicants on the same date.

What is the closest open route to senior care work?

Care home and domiciliary care manager (code 1232): open, on the Immigration Salary List, Health and Care visa eligible, and a natural step up from supervisory care work.

Is senior care worker still on the UK shortage list?

Code 6136 is on the Immigration Salary List, which replaced the shortage occupation list. That affects the salary you must be paid; it does not reopen overseas recruitment.

What salary do I need as a senior care worker?

£33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025), or £25,000 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) if the lower rate applies. You must also meet the threshold for your circumstances, and the higher figure governs.

Does my senior care experience count towards Canadian immigration?

Yes. Canada scores skilled work experience directly, and supervisory care roles classify higher than frontline care work. The assessment will show what your years are worth.

My employer lost its sponsor licence. What happens?

You can change sponsors. This was confirmed explicitly for workers already in the sector.

Your career in the UK

Your care career abroad: the UK senior care worker visa and the routes still open

Picture your next step as a care leader abroad, with a new home for you and your family. Here is the honest picture of where your experience counts now. Senior care worker sponsorship from outside the UK closed in July 2025. If you have supervisory care experience, you are in a stronger position than most: that experience maps onto several routes that are still open, in the UK and in Canada, and it is worth more on those routes than it was here. Below: what changed, and where your experience still counts.

What changed

Code: 6136: Senior care workers
New applications from overseas: Closed since July 2025
Already in the UK: Still open: extend, change employer, apply to settle
Standard rate: £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025)
Lower rate: £25,000 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025)
List: Immigration Salary List

This is a rule, not a law of nature. We check the Home Office weekly and this page updates when it changes.

Where your supervisory experience still counts

Senior care experience is a genuine asset on these routes, more so than on the one that closed.

Care home and domiciliary care managers: UK, open

Occupation code 1232, residential, day and domiciliary care managers. Still open, on the Immigration Salary List, and eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa: meaning no immigration health surcharge for you or your family.

This is the natural step up from a senior care role, and it is the single strongest option for most people reading this page. It asks for management responsibility rather than a clinical qualification, which is exactly what senior care work builds.

Nursing auxiliaries and assistants: UK, open

Code 6131. Open, Health and Care visa eligible. A sideways move rather than a step up, but a reliable one with many sponsors.

Canada: healthcare is a priority category, open

Canada runs category-based Express Entry draws, and health care and social services is one of the 2026 categories, confirmed by the Canadian government in February 2026. Candidates in these occupations can be invited at lower scores than the general pool.

Supervisory experience helps here in a way it did not in the UK system: Canada scores your years of skilled work experience directly, and management-level roles sit higher in Canada's occupation classification.

Note: Canada's dedicated Home Care Worker pilots paused new applications in December 2025 and have not reopened. The Express Entry healthcare category is separate and is running.

Already in the UK? Your route is intact

Extend, change employer, apply to settle. In England, your employer must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

The salary rule, for people switching inside the UK

You must clear two tests, and the higher figure governs:

The salary threshold that applies to you
The occupation going rate: £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) standard, £25,000 lower

Code 6136 is on the Immigration Salary List, which unlocks the reduced threshold. Without it the general threshold of £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) would apply, far above what senior care roles typically pay.

Before you pay anyone

Senior roles are marketed hard by unlicensed agents, often at higher prices, because the title sounds more credible.

A UK sponsor cannot lawfully charge you for a Certificate of Sponsorship
Check the employer on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors, and the Care Quality Commission register for England. Both free, both public

Check your own offer

UK Skilled Worker salary check

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply as a senior care worker instead of a care worker to get around the closure?: No. Both occupations closed to overseas applicants on the same date.
What is the closest open route to senior care work?: Care home and domiciliary care manager (code 1232): open, on the Immigration Salary List, Health and Care visa eligible, and a natural step up from supervisory care work.
Is senior care worker still on the UK shortage list?: Code 6136 is on the Immigration Salary List, which replaced the shortage occupation list. That affects the salary you must be paid; it does not reopen overseas recruitment.
What salary do I need as a senior care worker?: £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025), or £25,000 if the lower rate applies. You must also meet the threshold for your circumstances, and the higher figure governs.
Does my senior care experience count towards Canadian immigration?: Yes. Canada scores skilled work experience directly, and supervisory care roles classify higher than frontline care work. The assessment will show what your years are worth.
My employer lost its sponsor licence. What happens?: You can change sponsors. This was confirmed explicitly for workers already in the sector.

Rules last checked on September 14, 2026.

Official sources

Policy updates: when rules change, we publish here