We’re excited to introduce the Care Visa Sponsor Database, a tool developed in collaboration with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ). Adapted from a dataset originally developed by TBIJ for its investigation into the exploitation faced by workers who came to the UK on the health and care visa, this database is designed to help migrant care workers find local social care employers licensed to sponsor visas, addressing a significant gap in publicly available information.
Migrant care workers often face exploitation and uncertainty, which is enabled and exacerbated by the visa sponsorship requirement. The UK Government’s current list of visa sponsors doesn’t specify sectors, making it hard for workers to find new, legitimate employers without risking deportation.
Combining data from the Home Office’s visa sponsors list and the Care Quality Commission’s register, our tool identifies licensed care providers. Though there may be gaps, this resource is a significant step toward empowering workers to avoid exploitation.
The dataset will be updated daily using our automated scraping tools. Every day, new visa sponsors registered on gov.uk will be cross-referenced with active care home and homecare agencies listed on the Care Quality Commission, and uploaded to our database.
Read more about the hardships faced by migrant care workers here.