When Loveness got a job offer from an English care provider in March, the 32-year-old Zimbabwean thought her dreams of building a new life abroad were finally coming true. But just weeks later, the company told her they could not proceed because of new rules requiring care providers to prioritise employing workers already in Britain.

Now the British government has said it plans to stop the recruitment of overseas care workers altogether as part of sweeping immigration reforms. Industry bodies worry the sector will struggle to provide quality care without foreign workers.

For Loveness, who did not want to give her last name due to the sensitivity of the subject, the changes signal an abrupt end to her hopes of escaping chronic unemployment in Zimbabwe.

“I had invested all my money into this. And I was this close. Almost,” she said.

The British government introduced the new rules after reports, including by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, revealed widespread exploitation of foreign workers under the Health and Care Worker visa scheme, first introduced in 2022.

Many care workers were charged illegal recruitment fees by their sponsors, some arrived in Britain to find no work, while others said they were treated like slaves.

The government has now stripped hundreds of rogue companies of their licences to sponsor foreign workers, but this has left those who had already been hired in need of new jobs.

The British visa scheme also spawned scams in countries like Zimbabwe, where fraudsters promised healthcare qualifications that never materialised and bogus sponsorships.

Loveness, who lives with her husband and child in Budiriro, a suburb of Harare, had already paid $3,000 to a recruitment agent to help her find a suitable care provider — a widespread practice.

She also spent $555 on a tuberculosis test, police check and an English language test, and another $300 to get a nurse aide certificate from the Zimbabwe Red Cross in 2023.

She just needed a certificate of sponsorship, an electronic record issued by a licensed employer, to secure a visa.

She has not told some of the people who lent her money to pay for these items that her quest has failed.

“I just cannot stand the embarrassment.”

'CRUEL' POLICY CHANGE

In 2022, Britain opened a new visa route for overseas workers to help fill more than 160,000 vacancies in the care sector after the Covid-19 pandemic and the country's departure from the EU.

Nearly 20,000 Zimbabweans were granted these UK visas between 2021 and 2024, according to official figures.

Some Zimbabweans left jobs at banks and health clinics to try to find work taking care of Britain's ageing population. Loveness herself trained as an accountant.

Bongani Mazwi Mkwananzi, executive secretary for media and publicity for the Africa Diaspora Forum, which represents Africans abroad, said the UK care visa offered a rare, structured pathway to employment and financial stability.

“With domestic unemployment levels extremely high and wages well below the cost of living, the UK opportunity represented a beacon of hope,” he said.

Some had already seen their plans dashed last year when Britain banned newly arriving care workers from bringing family with them.

Yotamu Mlauzi Chagwada, president of the Nurse Aides Association of Zimbabwe Trust, said the withdrawal of sponsorship offers had left some Zimbabweans feeling betrayed.

“Labelling this policy cruel might not be an overstatement, considering the financial and emotional investments these caregivers made,” he said.

'DOOR SLAMMED SHUT'

Jane, who also did not want to give her last name, spent $800 on a TB test, police clearance, nurse aide certificate and English test.

When the new restrictions were imposed, she was still raising money to pay a recruitment agency.

“It was painful. I almost cried. I lost all my money,” said Jane, from the city of Masvingo in southeastern Zimbabwe.

“I am now regretting it. It would have been better if I had started a business.”

In Nigeria, the ban on overseas care workers is also causing dismay. An estimated 13,418 Nigerian care workers were granted visas to the UK in 2023 and 2024, representing 19% of the total visas issued for the sector.

Rita, a 31-year-old teacher living in Lagos state, spent months saving for a healthcare course and paying an agent who promised to secure her a job and sponsorship.

“I feel like my world is crumbling,” she said in a phone interview. “I've sacrificed so much ... Now it feels like the door to the UK has been slammed shut.”

Emmanuel, a 25-year-old nursing graduate, spent six months scouring the internet to find a job in Britain and finally got an interview. But now the care provider has fallen silent.

“This is not the first time we are hearing that the UK government wants to stop the care worker visa, but it looks like they mean business this time,” Emmanuel said.