On the 19^th of February 2024 a new statement of changes was published.

This prevents care workers, home carers, and senior care workers from bringing any dependants (partners and/or children) to the UK. A new requirement has been set out where a sponsor must engage in regulated activity and be registered with the Care Quality Commission to be eligible to sponsor care workers.

The relationship criteria for a dependant partner of a skilled worker is also changing to state that a skilled worker cannot be applying for or currently holding a position as a care worker.

Furthermore, a sudden change has been made where the Ukraine Family Scheme will close immediately. The explanatory memorandum mentioned that this closure was made to:

“Prevent a rush of applications to pre-empt the changes to the rules which have, in part, been made to mitigate risks of misuse of the generosity of the schemes”.

This sudden closure, without any warning, is likely to affect many individuals who were planning to bring family members from Ukraine to the UK for safety purposes

To read the full statement please click here.