UK — The UK Home Office has sent deportation letters to children as young as five and at least one pregnant woman, all of whom are dependents of care workers holding valid visas. The letters instruct the recipients to leave the UK and return to their home countries.

Until March 2024, care worker visas permitted holders to bring partners and children to the UK. Those who arrived before the policy change—including the children and the pregnant woman who received the letters—did so legally under the prior rules. The Home Office has confirmed it has issued at least five such letters to children.

Varuni Arachchige, a care worker in Perth, Scotland, whose visa was extended until 2031, said her family received one of the letters. "We have been living legally in the UK since we arrived here on Christmas Day in 2022," Arachchige said. "We are completely shocked by the family receiving these letters." Her husband and two children, aged eight and five, are dependents on her visa.

Rasika Samarasinghe, a care worker who arrived in October 2022, has also been refused permission for his wife and three children to remain. "I don’t know what to do," Samarasinghe said. "We have done everything legally in this country and we have paid every single tax the Home Office has asked us to pay. I’m not an overstayer, I just want a better future for my children." He added, "My focus is on family. I can’t do anything without my family. Both my wife and I work very hard here. We are so confused by what has happened to us. We haven’t told the children yet. My children are all settled and doing well at school. The youngest only speaks and writes English."

Fizza Qureshi, chief executive of Migrants’ Rights Network, criticized the move: "Migrant care workers continually bear the brunt of this government’s disdain for migrants. Nobody should be forced into a decision to either leave their livelihood or be separated from their families. The government really needs to grow a heart and treat migrant workers who are the foundations of our health and care systems, with more respect."

The Home Office defended its actions, stating that while it "will always welcome those who contribute to this country and wish to build a better life here," it must "restore order and control to our borders." It added that it has "set out plans for the biggest legal migration reforms in a generation, addressing the challenges caused by unprecedented levels of migration under the previous government. It is a privilege, not a right, to settle in the UK and it must be earned, rewarding contribution and those who play by the rules."