Over 500,000 ‘Boriswave’ migrants may dodge new visa crackdown
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is considering exempting over half a million foreign care workers from new visa restrictions despite government claims of tightening immigration controls.
The Prime Minister outlined plans on Wednesday to immediately boost the social care workforce, even as his government publicly claims to be tightening immigration controls. The proposed exemption would apply to foreign workers who entered Britain under the controversial health and care visa route established by the previous Conservative government.
Under Boris Johnson’s premiership, at least 1.6 million foreign workers entered the country in what critics have dubbed the “Boriswave”. Of those, 612,266 visas were issued through the health and care route between 2022 and 2024 alone.
Burnham made clear his personal connection to the issue during his Wednesday address, giving recognition to the foreign workers caring for his father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. He stated that he wanted those carers to know the government appreciates their support for people in Britain.
The potential exemption stands in stark contrast to reforms announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, which sharply increased requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Under those reforms, the baseline waiting period to apply for ILR was tripled from five to 15 years, with social care workers specifically classified as low or medium-skilled workers subject to the extended timeline.
But according to reports in The Times, Burnham is now considering exempting care workers from this stricter rule entirely—a move that would effectively create a two-tier immigration system.
The exemption proposal has backing from Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who claimed last month it would be “un-British” to require care staff to wait longer to settle permanently in the country.
Internal Government Tensions
The issue has exposed divisions within the Labour government. Mike Tapp, a Home Office minister under Sir Keir Starmer, publicly advocated for the exemption in an article for The Times, arguing that care workers who came to the United Kingdom on valid visas, played by the rules, and genuinely contributed to the care system should not face extended ILR timelines.
His intervention reportedly prompted Home Secretary Mahmood to call for his dismissal, highlighting the split between immigration hawks and those prioritizing workforce needs over border control.
The proposed exemption threatens to undermine the government’s stated commitment to reducing immigration numbers and raises questions about whether Labour’s visa crackdown represents genuine reform or merely cosmetic changes with significant loopholes for politically favored sectors.
With information from GB News
