Children as young as five are being told to leave the United Kingdom after the Home Office tightened visa rules for migrant care workers, despite some of their parents being allowed to remain legally in the country.
The move has left several families shocked and confused, with parents saying they came to Britain through the proper route, paid thousands of pounds in visa fees, worked legally, paid taxes and built stable lives before receiving letters ordering their children to leave.
The affected children are dependants of migrant care workers. Before March 2024, care workers coming to the UK were allowed to bring their partners and children with them. But the government later changed the rules, stopping many care workers from bringing family members into the country.
The concern now is that some families who arrived before the restrictions came into force are also being affected.
The UK Guardian reported that it had seen five letters sent by the Home Office to children, telling them they must leave the UK. A sixth letter was sent to a woman who is six months pregnant and lives in Britain with her husband, instructing her to leave him and return to her country.
One of the affected parents is Varuni Arachchige, a care worker based in Perth, Scotland. She lives with her husband, who works in a factory, and their two children, aged eight and five.
Arachchige said the family arrived in the UK on Christmas Day in 2022 and had lived legally in the country since then. Her own visa has been extended by the Home Office until 2031, but her husband and children, who are her dependants, have been told to leave.
“We have been living legally in the UK since we arrived here on Christmas Day in 2022,” she said. “My visa has been extended by the Home Office until 2031. But my husband and children who are my dependants have been told to leave the country.”
Her children are settled in school and in their community, while the family said it has not claimed benefits.
Arachchige holds a degree in chemistry, a postgraduate qualification in analytical chemistry and a master’s degree from the University of Dundee in sustainability and water security. Her husband is also a graduate and works in Britain.
The family said they had paid the Home Office thousands of pounds for their visa applications and had followed the immigration process.
Another care worker, Rasika Samarasinghe, is facing a similar situation. He arrived in the UK in October 2022 and later obtained a master’s degree in business management from Northumbria University.
His wife, who works as a teaching assistant, and their three children, aged 12, nine and eight, have been refused permission to stay in the UK as his dependants.
Samarasinghe said he did not know what to do after receiving the Home Office refusal.
“We have done everything legally in this country and we have paid every single tax the Home Office has asked us to pay,” he said. “I’m not an overstayer, I just want a better future for my children.”
He said the situation had left the family confused and afraid of what could happen next.
“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,” he said.
He added that his children were settled and doing well at school. His youngest child, he said, only speaks and writes English.
Lawyers say they have seen more cases of this kind in recent weeks, raising concerns that other migrant care worker families may also face separation.
Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors said the rules were putting migrant care workers in an impossible position.
He said they were being asked to choose between continuing essential work in the UK’s social care system and being separated from their children or partners.
“These workers care for vulnerable people, yet the rules can prevent them from caring for their own families,” he said.
Campaigners have also criticised the Home Office, saying care workers who helped support the UK’s health and social care system should not be treated as if their families are disposable.
Fizza Qureshi, chief executive of Migrants’ Rights Network, condemned the letters sent to children and said no worker should be forced to choose between their job and their family.
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