A group of Scottish charities and social care leaders is calling on the Home Office to treat care workers like NHS staff and automatically extend the visas of foreign care workers.

As part of the recognition of their work on the frontline in the covid-19 crisis, a pledge that healthcare workers will be allowed to stay in the UK for an extra year was made last month.

However the UK Government announcements did not cover people working in social care.

Now the heads of leading organisations representing social care, volunteers, health charities and people with learning disabilities in Scotland have written to Home Secretary Priti Patel asking her to extend the visa waiving to the care sector.

One of the organisations behind the letter is Camphill Scotland, which runs a series of communities where volunteers, including just under 60 from abroad, live and work alongside 650 people with learning disabilities.

The charity says they will have to leave the UK “as soon as travel restrictions are eased” unless the Home Office acts.

The letter also seeks guarantees that international volunteers who had been given permission to come to the UK but cannot do so due to the pandemic crisis will still be able to do so when travel restrictions are eased.

Dr Neil Henery, Director of Camphill Scotland, said: “We urge the Home Secretary to extend visas for frontline social care workers in the same way she has done for those working in the NHS – for one year free of charge.

“Our international volunteers help to look after around 650 people with learning disabilities in Scotland. With their visas running out all they have been offered is a one-month extension.

“Many would be very glad to stay and continue to support vulnerable people at this critical time. We should be doing everything we can to help them do so.”

Alongside Dr Neil Henery, the letter has been signed by Annie Gunner Logan, Director of the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland; Ian Welsh, CEO of the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland; Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care, the CEO of the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, Anna Fowlie; and Volunteer Scotland’s CEO George Thomson.

Last year Camphill warned that UK government immigration policies were making it difficult for people to come to Scotland to volunteer in social care, with visa applications routinely thrown out for ‘trivial reasons’.

A UK Government spokesperson said they had set up a new helpline to support people concerned about their immigration status through covid-19.

“The Government recognises the huge importance of the health and social care sector, who are providing vital services following the coronavirus outbreak," they said.

“We have already extended the visas of NHS doctors, nurses and paramedics whose visas expire in the next six months and we will continue to work to see if we can assist other frontline workers during this crisis.”

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