Care workers: what happens to your visa if your sponsor loses its licence (October 2026 update)

If you are sponsored as a care worker or senior care worker and your employer's licence is revoked, current Home Office guidance says your permission should not be cancelled when the revocation is the only reason. This is a temporary arrangement, added to the Home Office's cancellation guidance in September 2026, and it can be reviewed at any time. It gives you time, but it does not give you a new sponsor: to keep working in a sponsored care job you still need a licensed employer to assign you a new certificate of sponsorship. Everything below was checked on gov.uk on 7 October 2026.

This article explains the rules as published. It is not legal advice, and your own position depends on your visa, your dates and your employer. If you have a letter from the Home Office, take it to a regulated adviser.

What changed in September 2026?

The Home Office publishes guidance telling its caseworkers when to cancel ("curtail") someone's permission to stay. Version 12.0 of Cancellation and curtailment of permission, published for Home Office staff on 11 September 2026, adds a section headed "Temporary arrangement: adult social care workers following sponsor licence revocation". It tells caseworkers they "must not cancel" a person's permission where:

• the person holds permission on the Skilled Worker (or Health and Care Worker) route
• they are sponsored as a care worker (SOC 6135 or 6145) or senior care worker (SOC 6136 or 6146)
• the sole reason for cancellation would be the revocation of the sponsor's licence

The guidance adds that the arrangement "is temporary and subject to regular review", and that where any other reason applies, caseworkers must consider cancellation in the usual way. The Immigration Law Practitioners' Association lists the update as published on gov.uk on 14 September 2026.

What does "not cancelled" mean for you in practice?

It means the Home Office should not shorten your visa just because your employer lost its licence. Your permission keeps its original end date, unless something else in your case gives a reason to cancel it.

What it does not do:

• It does not make your old employer a sponsor again. An employer without a licence cannot assign a certificate of sponsorship.
• It does not protect you if there are other grounds, for example if you were involved in what led to the revocation. The same guidance says immediate cancellation is normally appropriate where a worker was complicit in the actions that caused the sponsor to lose its licence.
• It does not cover other jobs. Nurses, healthcare assistants and other roles are outside this arrangement.
• It can change. "Subject to regular review" means it could be withdrawn, so check for updates rather than relying on it for months.

Some immigration law firms report that the arrangement does not allow you to keep working for the revoked sponsor. The guidance text we read does not deal with this directly, so take advice before continuing to work for an employer whose licence has gone.

What is the normal rule for other sponsored workers?

For people outside this arrangement, the same guidance tells caseworkers to consider cancelling permission to 60 days when someone on a points-based route has stopped working for their sponsor, unless there is a reason to cancel immediately or to a different date. The 60 days are meant to give time to find a new sponsor, switch to another route or leave.

Caseworkers can leave more than 60 days in exceptional compassionate circumstances, such as serious illness, late pregnancy, or protecting a child's welfare, but only with a senior caseworker's approval.

Can I still switch into or stay in care work?

The Immigration Rules changed on 22 July 2025 (HC 997 explanatory memorandum, gov.uk). Here is where things stand as of October 2026, based on Appendix Skilled Worker (paragraph SW 6.1B) and the Health and Care Worker visa page:

Check the wording on gov.uk against your own dates. If your first certificate or your switch date is close to one of these cut-offs, get advice before you apply.

What to do, step by step, if your sponsor's licence is suspended or revoked

1. Find out exactly what has happened. A suspended licence is not the same as a revoked one. Suspension means the Home Office is investigating: the sponsor guidance says a suspended sponsor cannot assign any certificates and is taken off the public register while the suspension lasts. Revocation means the licence has gone. Our sponsor licence check shows whether a name is on the register today and with what rating, but it cannot tell a suspension from a revocation, so ask your employer in writing.

2. Keep your documents together. Your CoS reference number, payslips, contract, visa or eVisa details and any Home Office letters. You will need them for a new application and for advice.

3. Contact your regional partnership if you are in England. The Department of Health and Social Care runs a regional support offer for international care workers whose sponsor's licence was revoked. It can help with understanding your visa, finding a new sponsor, financial hardship and wellbeing, and it prioritises people affected by revocation. You email the partnership for the area where you live, with your name, address, contact details and your sponsor's name. The page was last updated on 12 May 2025, so check the contacts are still current. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.

4. Look for a new licensed sponsor. Start from employers on the register who are already set up to sponsor care roles (see the next section). In England, your new employer must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

5. Get a new certificate of sponsorship and apply to update your visa. Changing employer means a new CoS and an update application. Gov.uk says you must use a CoS in an application within 3 months of it being assigned. Our guide to certificates of sponsorship explains what to check on it.

6. Never pay for a job or a CoS. Sponsors must pay the certificate fee and the Immigration Skills Charge themselves. Anyone asking you for money to secure sponsorship is a warning sign.

7. Get free, regulated advice. Citizens Advice can help with unpaid wages and next steps. For immigration advice, use an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, which you can search on gov.uk. Some charities and law centres give regulated advice for free.

How many care sponsors have left the register recently?

We record every change to the Home Office register. Between 14 August and 7 October 2026, our data shows:

Two caveats. A removal can mean revocation, a suspension (suspended sponsors are taken off the public register while it lasts), surrender of the licence or a name change, and the register does not say which. And we identify care providers by name, so some are missed and a few non-care organisations may be counted. Even so, these figures suggest care providers were around 1 in 6 of all removals in this period. You can see each month's changes on our register changes page.

How to find care employers that sponsor

As of 7 October 2026, our copy of the register lists 7,087 Skilled Worker sponsors with care, nursing, homecare, domiciliary or healthcare in their name. Our city pages group licensed care providers by location:

Counts were taken from our pages on 7 October 2026 and change daily. Other cities follow the same pattern: /visa-sponsors/your-city/care. A licence means the employer can sponsor. It does not mean it has a vacancy or will sponsor you, so contact employers directly and ask whether they are recruiting sponsored care workers now. NHS employers sit under the health pages, for example health employers in London.

Frequently asked questions

Will my visa be cancelled if my care home loses its sponsor licence? Under Home Office guidance published in September 2026, caseworkers must not cancel the permission of care workers (SOC 6135 or 6145) or senior care workers (SOC 6136 or 6146) where the only reason is the sponsor's licence revocation. The arrangement is temporary and under review, and other grounds for cancellation still apply.

Does the September 2026 change apply to nurses or healthcare assistants? No. The guidance names only care workers and senior care workers by occupation code. Other sponsored workers whose sponsor loses its licence are normally considered for cancellation of their permission to 60 days.

Can I keep working for my old employer after its licence is revoked? An employer without a licence cannot sponsor you, and the guidance does not say you can continue working for it. Some law firms say the arrangement does not allow it. Take regulated advice before continuing to work for a revoked sponsor.

Can I still switch to a care worker visa from a Student or Graduate visa? Yes, until 22 July 2028, if you have worked legally for the sponsor in the care role for at least 3 months before the certificate of sponsorship is issued. Care worker applications from outside the UK closed on 22 July 2025.

Who can help me find a new sponsor for free? In England, the regional partnerships listed on gov.uk's support offer for international adult social care workers. They prioritise people whose sponsor's licence was revoked. Citizens Advice and regulated immigration advisers can also help.

Do I have to pay anything to a new employer to sponsor me? No. The employer must pay the certificate of sponsorship fee and the Immigration Skills Charge, and the Home Office sponsor guidance says these must not be passed on to you. Treat any request for a sponsorship fee as a red flag.