Care worker visa: who can be sponsored and the key dates

A care worker (SOC 6135) or senior care worker (SOC 6136) can only be sponsored in an application for permission to stay (SW 6.1B). You must have worked legally for your sponsor in that code for three months and apply before 22 July 2028. The other way in is to already hold Skilled Worker permission in those codes.

What is the care worker visa?

Care workers are sponsored on the Skilled Worker route. The rules for these jobs are in SW 6.1B and SW 6.1C of Appendix Skilled Worker. They are also in the table notes in Appendix Skilled Occupations and in the Appendix Immigration Salary List.

GOV.UK’s Health and Care Worker visa pages also cover these jobs. They list 6135 and 6136 among the codes eligible to extend, update or switch to that visa.

These are the two occupation codes:

SOC 2020 code	Title	Related job titles in Appendix Skilled Occupations	SOC 2010 equivalents (Table 2aa)
6135	Care workers and home carers	Community support workers, home care workers, residential care workers, care workers and home carers not elsewhere classified	2442, 3231, 3239, 6141, 6144, 6145
6136	Senior care workers	Senior community support workers, senior home care workers, senior residential care workers, senior care workers not elsewhere classified	6144, 6146

The related job titles are examples, not a full list. Appendix Skilled Occupations says 6135 is skilled to RQF level 2. The other codes in Tables 1a and 2aa are skilled to RQF level 3-5. RQF levels show how advanced a qualification is. See RQF levels.

Who can be sponsored as a care worker?

If you are sponsored in 6135 or 6136, your application must be for permission to stay. You must also meet (a) or (b) in this table (SW 6.1B).

Route	What you need
(a)	You have been working legally for your sponsor in one of these codes for at least the three months ending on the day your certificate of sponsorship was issued, and you apply before 22 July 2028
(b)	You already have permission as a Skilled Worker, sponsored in 6135 or 6136, or in the SOC 2010 codes 6145 “Care workers and home carers” or 6146 “Senior care workers”

Two things to note about the wording:

• You must be in the UK on the day you apply for permission to stay (SW 1.5). The rules for these codes only cover permission to stay. They do not cover entry clearance (permission to enter the UK).
• Route (b) has no application date. It ignores a period of overstaying where the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies.

If you switch, GOV.UK’s Health and Care Worker visa page also says you must have worked legally in your job for your sponsor for at least 3 months.

What dates matter for care workers?

Date	What it does	Where it appears
11 March 2024	The rules in force before this date are used for permission in SOC 2010 codes 6145 or 6146 (SW 6.1C(a)). Some dependants must show continuous work as a care worker or senior care worker on a Skilled Worker visa since before this date	SW 6.1C, SW 29.1A, GOV.UK dependant rules
22 July 2025	Tables 1a and 2aa apply to people granted permission under the rules in place before this date. Dependants cannot use that route for 6135 and 6136	Appendix Skilled Occupations, SW 29.1A
22 July 2028	You must apply before this date under SW 6.1B(a)(ii). It is also the removal date for 6135 and 6136 on the Immigration Salary List	SW 6.1B, Appendix Immigration Salary List

The Immigration Salary List only includes a job if the application uses a certificate of sponsorship issued before the removal date in the table. For 6135 and 6136 the entry says “all jobs” in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The England and private household conditions below also apply. See the immigration salary list.

Does the employer need to be registered with the CQC?

For jobs in England, yes. Appendix Skilled Occupations says a job with a working location in England is only eligible in 6135 or 6136 if the sponsor:

• is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
• is currently carrying on a regulated activity

The Immigration Salary List repeats this. GOV.UK’s Skilled Worker “your job” page says your employer must be registered with the CQC if you are a care worker or senior care worker working in England. If you change employer as a care worker or senior care worker working in England, your new employer must also be registered with the CQC (Health and Care Worker visa page).

SW 6.1C sets one exception. The CQC rule does not apply if SW 6.1B applies and all of these are true:

1. You were previously granted permission as a Skilled Worker, sponsored in SOC 2010 code 6145 or 6146, under the rules in force before 11 March 2024.
2. Since then, you have had permission as a Skilled Worker without a break, sponsored in either or both of those SOC 2010 codes or in 6135 or 6136.
3. You are applying to continue working with the same sponsor as in your most recent grant of permission.

For the second point, a period of overstaying is ignored where the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies.

Can a private household sponsor a care worker?

No. Private households or individuals cannot sponsor Skilled Worker applicants. The exception is a sole trader who sponsors someone to work for their business. This is in the 6135 entry in Appendix Skilled Occupations. The Immigration Salary List entry for 6135 says the same.

What salary figures apply to these codes?

Appendix Skilled Occupations gives the same figures for 6135 and 6136:

Table	Points options	Going rate	70% of going rate
Table 1a	A and D (going rate), E (70%)	£33,400 (£17.13 per hour)	£33,400 (£17.13 per hour)
Table 2aa	F and I (going rate), J (70%)	£25,000 (£12.82 per hour)	£25,000 (£12.82 per hour)

Both tables show “Not applicable” for the 90% and 80% columns and “No” for PhD points.

Tables 1a and 2aa also say sponsors can only sponsor people in these codes if the person was granted permission as a Skilled Worker under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 and has had permission since without a break. The exceptions are where option D, option I or the Temporary Shortage List applies. The options are explained in tradeable points.

GOV.UK’s Health and Care Worker visa page lists 6135 and 6136 among the codes with different salary rules:

• usually at least £31,300 a year or the lower going rate, whichever is higher
• at least £25,000 or the full going rate if the job is on the immigration salary list

See going rates and salary thresholds.

Can a care worker’s partner and children come too?

GOV.UK says that if your partner or children are inside the UK, they can apply to stay as your dependant if any of these is true:

• you have been continually employed as a care worker or senior care worker in the UK, and on a Skilled Worker visa, since before 11 March 2024
• they are your child and were born in the UK
• they are your child and you are the only living parent responsible for them
• they are your child and their other parent is also sponsored as a care worker or senior care worker

If they are outside the UK, they can apply to join you in either of these cases:

• you have been continually employed as a care worker or senior care worker in the UK, and on a Skilled Worker visa, since before 11 March 2024
• they are your child and were born in the UK

For the Health and Care Worker visa, GOV.UK says that if you switch as a care worker or senior care worker, your partner or children cannot switch as your dependants to that visa. See partner and children.

Do I need a criminal record certificate?

Yes, if you apply for entry clearance in 6135 or 6136. SW 16.1 lists these codes among the jobs where an applicant must give a criminal record certificate. The certificate must come from the relevant authority in any country where you have been for 12 months or more in the 10 years before you apply, while aged 18 or over. SW 16.2 says when a satisfactory explanation can replace the certificate.