From today, victims of modern slavery on Skilled Worker visas
will be free to leave abusive employers without risking their
immigration status.
Once an individual is formally recognised as a victim of modern
slavery, they will no longer be tied to a specific sponsor and
can take up any lawful work for the rest of their visa.
Until now, victims who left an abusive sponsor risked losing both
their immigration status and their income, as Skilled Worker visa
holders have no recourse to public funds.
This change ends that choice, delivering what victims and
anti-slavery campaigners have long called for. It means workers
can leave abusive employers without risking destitution, helping
them support themselves and rebuild their lives.
It will help workers across the Skilled Worker route, including
care workers and others who came to the UK in good faith but were
exploited by rogue employers.
One victim paid an agency £20,000 for what she believed was
stable, full-time care work. Instead, her abusive sponsor
demanded £400 a month just to keep her visa active, while
providing little or no work.
For months, she struggled to pay rent and support her family,
facing repeated threats that her visa would be
cancelled.
When work finally came, she was paid as little as £200 to £300 a
month, a fraction of what she had been promised.
From today, modern slavery victims like her will be able to leave
abusive sponsors as soon as they are recognised by the Home
Office, take up lawful work and start rebuilding their
lives.
Minister for Migration and Citizenship, , said:
No one should have to endure the exploitation experienced by
victims like this.
Today's changes will give victims the freedom to leave abusive
workplaces, rebuild their lives and move on from the trauma of
exploitation.
While we support victims, we are also going after those
responsible. Rogue sponsors who exploit workers will face the
full force of the law.
The measures are part of the government's wider efforts to tackle
modern slavery and rogue employers who abuse the immigration
system.Through the Immigration White Paper, the government has
committed to making it easier for sponsored workers to change
employer, reducing dependency on individual sponsors and
strengthening protections against exploitation.
The victim's former employer was among the more than 6,600
sponsors stripped of their licence to hire overseas workers since
this government came to power, which is more revocations than in
a decade under the previous government.
Of these, over 4,400 were stripped of their licence in the year
ending June 2026, a 140% rise on the year before and the highest
level on record. Where evidence of criminality
isidentified,sponsorswill be referred to the police and face the
full force of the law.
, Independent Anti-Slavery
Commissioner said:
I welcome this change. I have heard repeatedly from survivors how
they became trapped in abusive employment, fearful that leaving
could put their livelihood and immigration status at risk. That
is why I have consistently called for greater freedom for
sponsored workers to leave exploitative employers without
jeopardising their immigration status.
No victim of modern slavery should have to remain with an abusive
employer. Giving victims the freedom to leave, find alternative
work and support themselves will help remove a significant
barrier that can keep people trapped in exploitation.
Salvation Army Deputy Director Anti Trafficking and Modern
Slavery Major Heather Grinsted said:
We know from our work with modern slavery survivors that one of
the key ways to protect people from future exploitation
is to help them regain stability through financial independence.
Allowing survivors to work for another sponsor for
the remainder of their visa is a crucial way to help
them rebuild their lives safely and with dignity.
The Salvation Army also welcomes efforts to crack down on rogue
employers whose willingness to exploit people further
incentivises criminal gangs to trick, trap and trade vulnerable
people for profit.
