UK to offer visas for care workers

United Kingdom (UK) said on Friday it would offer visas for care workers for a 12 month period after the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated staff shortages within the social care sector.

The temporary measures were expected to come into effect early next year and would be in place for a minimum of 12 months, the government said. The minimum annual salary to qualify for the visa will be 20,480 pounds ($27,445).

Related: UK to let foreign students stay two years after graduation post-Brexit

After Brexit, the UK had also announced new immigration plans that allowed international students to work in the country for two years after graduating.

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom had said that the change was aimed at attracting the “brightest and the best from around the world” and a sign of “the UK´s ambition once we have left the European Union”.

“Instead of being open to free movement from just the (EU), the United Kingdom will be able to take advantage of a global talent pool… and that’s something that’s a great advantage for us,” she had told BBC radio.

Leadsom said the government wanted to increase the number of international students in Britain 30 percent to 600,000 by 2030, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and maths, collectively known as STEM subjects.

International students currently make up half of all full-time post-graduate STEM students in the country.