A learning disability charity has raised concerns that some international students are using Britain’s student visa system as a route into full-time employment in the social care sector, rather than attending the university courses for which they were granted entry to the UK.
The claims were highlighted in reporting by Camilla Tominey in The Telegraph and centre on allegations that a number of postgraduate students, many from Nigeria, have enrolled on university courses but are instead working full-time in care settings across the country.
According to Journey, a North East-based charity that supports adults with learning disabilities and cognitive conditions, some students appear to be living and working hundreds of miles away from the universities where they are enrolled.
The charity says it uncovered multiple cases while recruiting staff, including applicants who were studying subjects such as project management, international relations and human resources while simultaneously applying for permanent full-time positions in the care sector.
Under current immigration rules, international students are generally restricted to working a maximum of 20 hours per week during term time. Full-time employment is only permitted during designated vacation periods.
Journey argues that some of the arrangements it identified appear inconsistent with those restrictions and has questioned whether attendance requirements are being adequately monitored.
The charity also raised concerns about the qualifications and backgrounds of some applicants. It says its recruitment procedures identified CVs containing qualifications that could not be independently verified, as well as references from organisations that appeared not to exist.
According to the charity, several applicants sought positions supporting vulnerable adults with complex needs despite having no previous experience or specialist training in social care.
Journey’s chief executive, Elspeth McPherson, warned that the issue could present risks to vulnerable people if unqualified individuals are placed in care settings without sufficient training or oversight.
The charity alleges that some agency-supplied workers have demonstrated poor standards of care, including incidents where support workers failed to properly engage with those they were responsible for supporting.
Journey says it first raised concerns about the issue several years ago but believes insufficient action has been taken to address it.
The allegations come as the Government seeks to tighten oversight of international student recruitment and tackle abuse of the visa system.
Ministers have recently announced plans to introduce a new traffic-light rating system for universities sponsoring international students. Institutions judged to have poor compliance records could face restrictions on overseas recruitment and, in serious cases, lose the ability to sponsor international students altogether.
Responding to the wider concerns, Migration Minister Mike Tapp said Britain would continue to welcome genuine international students but insisted the visa system should not be exploited for illegal working or other forms of abuse.
Universities named in the report, including the University of Sunderland, Teesside University and University of Gloucestershire, said they take visa compliance and attendance monitoring seriously.
The institutions stated that they operate robust procedures to ensure students comply with immigration requirements and said any breaches are reported to the Home Office where appropriate.
The debate comes amid wider concerns about migration, labour shortages in the social care sector, and the challenge of ensuring both universities and employers comply with immigration rules designed to prevent abuse of the system.
Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/09/nigerians-exploit-student-visas-social-care-jobs/
