A UK charity has raised concern that some international students are using study visas to enter Britain before taking full-time jobs in the social care sector.
Journey, a North East charity that supports people with learning disabilities, claims it has found cases involving students who appear to be working in care roles while enrolled on university courses in other subjects.
In yesterday’s publication in The Telegraph, the charity said many of the applicants it reviewed were postgraduate students from Nigeria. It claimed some were registered for courses such as IT, finance, business management, project management and international relations, but were also applying for full-time or permanent jobs in social care.
Under UK student visa rules, most international students on degree-level courses can work only up to 20 hours a week during term time. They can usually work full-time only during official holidays. Permanent full-time employment is not normally allowed unless the person changes to a suitable work visa.
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Journey said the cases it uncovered raised questions for universities, recruitment agencies, care providers and the Home Office.
In one case, the charity said a student studying project management at the University of Sunderland was living and working full-time in a residential nursing home in Edinburgh. In another case, a student at Teesside University, who was said to have a background in construction, claimed on his CV that he had been “operationally responsible” for a social care provider in London.
Another postgraduate student, said to be studying international relations at Gloucester University, was allegedly working in social care in Hemel Hempstead, about 100 miles away from where he lived. The charity also claimed that one applicant provided a reference from an organisation in Nigeria that did not appear to exist.
Elspeth McPherson, Journey’s chief executive, said the concern was not only about immigration rules. She said some applicants did not appear to have the training, experience or qualifications needed to care for people with complex needs and intellectual disabilities.
The charity said social care workers often support vulnerable adults who need help with communication, behaviour, medication, personal care and safeguarding. It warned that weak checks could put service users at risk.
Journey also claimed that some recruitment agencies were placing workers in care settings without enough specialist knowledge of the sector.
The allegations come at a sensitive time for the UK Government, which has promised tighter action on student visa abuse. The Home Office recently announced tougher standards for universities that sponsor international students. Under the plans, universities could lose the right to recruit foreign students if too many fail to enrol, drop out or have visa applications refused.
Ministers say genuine international students remain welcome in Britain, but insist the system must not be used as a route into illegal work.
The claims also touch on wider concerns about overseas recruitment in social care. Nigeria is on the Government’s health and social care red list, meaning employers and agencies should not actively recruit care workers directly from the country, except under agreed official arrangements. However, direct applications from individuals are treated differently.
The adult social care sector has relied heavily on overseas workers in recent years because of staff shortages, low pay and high turnover. But the Government has since tightened visa routes for care workers after reports of exploitation, fake jobs and poor oversight.
Universities named in reports about the issue have said they take visa compliance seriously and monitor student attendance. They also say breaches are reported to the Home Office where required.
The case has raised fresh calls for stronger checks across the system. Campaigners say universities must make sure students are attending classes, employers must check the right to work properly, and agencies must stop sending untrained workers into sensitive care roles.
There is no suggestion that all Nigerian students or all international students are breaking visa rules. Many study legally, work within the rules and contribute to the UK economy.
But Journey says the cases it has seen show that gaps in the system are being exploited. The charity wants faster action to protect vulnerable care users and stop the student visa route being misused.
