Overview

• A Public Accounts Committee report reveals the department relies solely on matching airline passenger data for exit checks with no systematic analysis since December 2020.
• The Home Office lacks reliable figures on how many skilled worker visa holders overstay or continue working illegally in the UK.
• The 2022 expansion of the skilled worker route to support the social care sector exposed migrants to debt bondage, excessive hours and other abuses without data on the extent of exploitation.
• More than 470 care-sector sponsor licences were revoked between July 2022 and December 2024, impacting over 39,000 workers linked to those sponsors.
• The PAC urges strengthened data collection, cross-government oversight and rollout of digital visa systems as legislation to end overseas care worker recruitment is introduced.