New uK Care Worker Rules Shatter Dreams In Zimbabwe, Nigeria
Britain reveals brand-new ban on abroad care employees
Care employee visa system dogged by abuse, exploitation
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New rules dash hopes in Zimbabwe, Nigeria
By Farai Shawn Matiashe and Nelson Chigozirim
MUTARE, Zimbabwe/LAGOS, June 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – W hen Loveness got a task offer from an English care provider in March, the 32-year-old Zimbabwean thought her imagine building a new life abroad were finally coming to life.
But just weeks later on, the company told her they could not continue since of brand-new rules needing care service providers to prioritise using employees currently in Britain.
Now the British federal government has stated it prepares to stop the recruitment of abroad care employees completely as part of sweeping immigration reforms. Industry bodies fret the sector will struggle to supply quality care without foreign employees.
For Loveness, who did not want to offer her surname due to the sensitivity of the subject, the modifications signal an abrupt end to her hopes of getting away persistent joblessness in Zimbabwe.
“I had actually invested all my cash into this. And I was this close. Almost,” she said.
The British government introduced the new rules after reports, including by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, exposed prevalent exploitation of foreign workers under the Health and Care Worker visa plan, initially presented in 2022.
Many care workers were charged prohibited recruitment fees by their sponsors, some gotten here in Britain to find no work, while others said they were treated like servants.
The government has now removed numerous rogue companies of their licences to sponsor foreign employees, however this has left those who had actually already been worked with in requirement of new tasks.
The British visa plan also generated rip-offs in nations like Zimbabwe, where scammers guaranteed health care certifications that never ever materialised and fake sponsorships.
Loveness, who lives with her other half and kid in Budiriro, a suburban area of Harare, had already paid $3,000 to a recruitment representative to assist her find a suitable care supplier – a prevalent practice.
She likewise spent $555 on a tuberculosis test, cops check and an English language test, and another $300 to get a nurse assistant certificate from the Zimbabwe Red Cross in 2023.
She simply needed a certificate of sponsorship, an electronic record issued by a certified employer, to secure a visa.
She has not told some of the people who provided her money to spend for these items that her mission has stopped working.
“I simply can not stand the shame.”
‘CRUEL’ POLICY CHANGE
In 2022, Britain opened a new visa route for abroad workers to help fill more than 160,000 vacancies in the care sector following the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s departure from the European Union.
Nearly 20,000 Zimbabweans were given these UK visas in between 2021 and 2024, according to official figures.
Some Zimbabweans left tasks at banks and health clinics to attempt to find work looking after Britain’s ageing population. Loveness herself trained as an accountant.
Bongani Mazwi Mkwananzi, executive secretary for media and promotion for the Africa Diaspora Forum, which represents Africans abroad, stated the UK care visa used a rare, structured path to employment and monetary stability.
“With domestic unemployment levels exceptionally high and earnings well listed below the cost of living, the UK opportunity represented a beacon of hope,” he said.
Some had currently seen their strategies rushed last year when Britain banned freshly showing up care workers from bringing family with them.
Yotamu Mlauzi Chagwada, president of the Nurse Aides Association of Zimbabwe Trust, said the withdrawal of sponsorship deals had left some Zimbabweans feeling betrayed.
“Labelling this policy terrible might not be an overstatement, thinking about the financial and psychological financial investments these caretakers made,” he said.
‘DOOR SLAMMED SHUT’
Jane, who likewise did not wish to give her last name, invested $800 on a TB test, police clearance, nurse assistant certificate and English test.
When the new restrictions were imposed, she was still raising money to pay a recruitment company.
“It hurt. I almost cried. I lost all my cash,” stated Jane, from the city of Masvingo in southeastern Zimbabwe.
“I am now regretting it. It would have been better if I had begun an organization.”
In Nigeria, the ban on abroad care employees is likewise triggering dismay. An approximated 13,418 Nigerian care employees were granted visas to the UK in 2023 and 2024, representing 19% of the overall visas provided for the sector.
Rita, a 31-year-old instructor living in Lagos state, invested months saving for a course and paying a representative who promised to secure her a task and sponsorship.
“I feel like my world is crumbling,” she said in a phone interview. “I’ve sacrificed a lot … Now it seems like the door to the UK has actually been knocked shut.”
Emmanuel, a 25-year-old nursing graduate, spent 6 months searching the internet to discover a job in Britain and finally got an interview. Today the care company has actually fallen silent.
“This is not the very first time we are hearing that the UK government wishes to stop the care employee visa, but it looks like they imply business this time,” Emmanuel stated.
“We have actually been glued to our screens, chasing after every lead,” he said. “To finally get a deal and after that hear this news – it’s crushing.”
For Loveness, there was one tiny piece of luck. Her partner had used to offer his vehicle to pay the visa fees if she got a certificate of sponsorship. But he had actually not yet discovered a buyer.
Loveness now works in a store in Harare, but her salary does not even cover her lease.
“I still have actually not quit. If I get a chance to transfer to other nations like Australia, I will get it,” she stated. (Additional reporting by Nelson Chigozirim in Lagos; modifying by Clar Ni Chonghaile and Ayla Jean Yackley. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters. Visit https://context.news/)