By Benson Daniel
Care workers, chefs and other migrant workers who have suffered modern slavery in the United Kingdom will be allowed to leave abusive employers without automatically putting their immigration status at risk under new visa rules announced by the government.
The change is aimed at workers whose visas are tied to a specific sponsoring employer and who may previously have faced the prospect of losing their right to remain in the UK if they walked away from an exploitative workplace.
Under the new arrangement, workers who receive a positive “conclusive grounds” decision formally recognising them as victims of modern slavery through the National Referral Mechanism will be allowed to work for another employer for the remainder of their existing visa.
The government said the measure would provide greater protection for vulnerable migrants while making it harder for unscrupulous employers to use immigration status as a tool of control.
The sponsorship system has faced growing criticism because skilled workers can become heavily dependent on their employers. Those who lose their jobs have traditionally been required to find another approved sponsor quickly or risk having to leave the country.
Campaigners have warned that this arrangement can leave workers reluctant to report abuse, particularly where employers control their accommodation, wages and immigration documentation.
Cases of exploitation have included workers being underpaid, forced to work excessive hours and subjected to threatening or coercive conditions. Some workers have also reported having passports withheld or being placed in highly insecure living arrangements.
The latest changes will cover workers in sectors including social care and hospitality who entered the UK legally and subsequently found themselves in abusive employment.
The government said sponsors found to have engaged in criminal conduct would be referred to the police, while authorities would continue efforts to remove employers who misuse the sponsorship system.
The move comes amid a sharp increase in action against employers accused of abusing the skilled worker sponsorship system. More than 6,600 sponsors have reportedly lost their licences since the Labour government came to power, including more than 4,400 in the year to June 2026, representing a significant increase from the previous year.
Migration and Citizenship Minister Jo White said victims should not be forced to remain with an abusive employer because of their immigration status, arguing that the new rules would give affected workers an opportunity to rebuild their lives safely.
Anti trafficking organisations have welcomed the change, describing the ability to work for another sponsor as an important step towards helping survivors regain independence.
However, concerns remain over how easily victims can access the modern slavery identification system. Work Rights Centre chief executive Dora Olivia Vicol said the reforms could be transformative, but warned that their effectiveness would depend on whether vulnerable workers could successfully access the framework and receive protection.
The changes come against the backdrop of wider reforms to Britain’s immigration system. The number of new overseas applications for care worker visas has fallen sharply since the government stopped accepting new applications from overseas in July 2025.
Despite the restrictions on new recruitment, thousands of migrant care workers already living in the UK remain dependent on the sponsorship system.
The government says it is also working to make it easier for sponsored workers to change employers, while strengthening enforcement against companies that exploit migrant labour.
For workers trapped between abusive employment and the threat of losing their immigration status, the latest change removes one of the major barriers to leaving dangerous workplaces.
UK visa rules, care workers, modern slavery, migrant workers, skilled worker visa, immigration, labour exploitation, human trafficking, UK government
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