I came to UK from Zimbabwe as a care worker, but ended up homeless

LONDON - Thousands of overseas workers hired by care companies across Britain have been left broke and desperate after losing their jobs in what campaigners say is a national crisis.

In 2022, Britain launched a visa scheme to encourage migrant workers to bolster its ailing care sector. About 150,000 have arrived from countries including India, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

But reports of exploitation have soared.

The government has since banned hundreds of companies from sponsoring migrant workers - but this has left carers they had already hired jobless and terrified of deportation.

Zola, a 45-year-old Zimbabwean care worker, was recruited by a firm in the northern city of Leeds in 2023 but is now £10,000 ($13,500) in debt.

She told her story to Context but asked to use a pseudonym for fear of repercussions.

The way we've been treated is outrageous. We were encouraged to come here to contribute our skills, but the jobs never materialised and now we're trapped in debt.

We came here in good faith, but other people have used us to fatten their own pockets. Revoking these companies' licences is not enough. They need to be held accountable, and so does the government.

The first shock when I arrived was the accommodation. They promised us housing, but the property was crammed with people and under renovation. There were bed bugs, there was no heating and we had to use a bucket to wash ourselves.

I thought I'd start work immediately, but they kept saying they were losing clients and didn't have shifts.

I think they had hired about 100 of us because we were all in a large WhatsApp group. My annual salary was supposed to be £20,480, but I only received a few shifts and was paid £930 in total in all the time I was with the company.

We were caring for people in their own homes. Shifts started early and finished at 10 at night, but they only paid for the time you spent in clients' homes, not the time you were on call.

By October, it was very cold outside and we had nowhere to go between appointments so I'd spend hours riding around and around the city on buses just to stay warm.

If the carers complained about anything, the managers would threaten to remove them from the rota or report them to the Home Office. Everyone was afraid of losing their visa and getting deported. There were constant threats.

Then last year the company lost its sponsor licence so I have to find a new sponsor.

The emotional and financial strain has affected me very badly mentally, especially as my children are still in Harare.

When I applied for my visa, the government said carers could bring their children. I was hoping my children would join me once I got established, but that never happened.

Now I dread calls from home - I took the job hoping to create a better life for my children, but I can't even provide them with the basics, which breaks my heart. Sometimes my daughter is crying because she misses me. It's gut-wrenching.

Back in Zimbabwe, I was working as a sales rep for a farm, but they were struggling to keep afloat. I'm a single mum with three kids so I needed to find something else.

My sister told me the UK was looking for care workers so I quit my job and did a Red Cross course and a work placement to get experience.

I heard about a company that would sponsor me for £5,000. It seemed expensive, but some people were paying £10,000. I only discovered later it was illegal to charge these fees.

I borrowed money from friends and relatives and my kids moved in with my mum. There were other expenses for things like an English test, police background check, my visa and flight, so altogether I paid about £7,000.

But I've had to borrow even more money since coming here just to survive. I've had to use food banks or ask for groceries from the church. A friend of my sister has given me a place to sleep.

Read more: UK migrant carers 'owed huge sums' in visa scheme 'scandal'

It's very difficult to find a new sponsor because companies providing home care ask for a driving licence. Another problem is they often want six months' experience, but some carers lost their jobs soon after arriving here.

The government is partly to blame because they allowed these companies to sponsor a lot of people without doing background checks to see if they had enough work for everyone.

So yes, the government should be held accountable. I came here through the proper channels, I did everything they asked, and now I'm treated like someone who came through the back door.

I've thought about going back to Zimbabwe so many times, but then I remember how much I owe everyone. I'm just hoping there's light at the end of the tunnel.

($1 = 0.7408 pounds)

(Reporting by Emma Batha; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa.)