Hundreds of civil servants at the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) could be forced to leave the UK due to “cruel” visa rule changes. At least 1,500 benefits and Job-Centre staff from overseas are no longer eligible for skilled visas, says the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which represents government workers.
Foreign nationals working at the DWP said they felt “heartbroken” and betrayed. They had expected to move on to skilled workers visas and settle in Britain once their current graduate visas had ended.
MPs criticised the “reckless and self-defeating” Home Office visa rules — warning of a staffing crisis at the DWP as the Government tries to implement changes to benefits and work schemes.
Prime Minister Starmer faces a back-bench rebellion on immigration although he hinted that some reforms could be watered down. Sir Keir Starmer and his Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, have angered MPs over plans to extend the time it takes for migrants to get settled status. Foreign nationals working in relatively low-paid roles at the DWP — in customer support, benefits processing and as work coaches — have fallen foul of visa rules changes.
The increased salary thresholds made under the Conservatives in April 2024 had already caused some of the department’s lowest-paid staff to leave the UK, the PCS said. However, further changes announced by the government in July 2025 have affected more staff from overseas.
The government raised the eligibility for skilled worker visas to degree-level jobs only. The visa category known as 4111, for low-level administration roles, was removed. Many of the foreign nationals started their DWP jobs on two-year graduate visas, expecting that they would be able to move on to skilled workers’ visa later. But they now face the prospect of having to leave the UK.
The PCS has previously highlighted the case of one man. He had to leave his DWP admin job and return to Nigeria in May last year because he failed to meet the £30,960 salary threshold in place at the time.
In July 2025, the government raised the salary threshold for jobs on the immigration salary list to £33,400. It made it even more difficult for some DWP staff to meet the requirements. At least 1,500 DWP workers could be forced to leave the UK because of the removal of the 4111 visa code and raised salary thresholds, according to the PCS’s estimate.
Relatively few will be able to move into higher-skilled jobs, union officials fear, leaving the vast majority at risk of exiting the UK when their graduate visas run out by the end of next year. Dozens of foreign civil servants at the department have already had to leave the UK in recent months, said union officials.
“These staff members have studied in the UK, invested in their futures here and are already contributing to essential services”, said the PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote. ”Forcing them to leave is not only cruel, it’s a loss of talent and investment the UK can’t afford”.
A senior solicitor at Ashton Ross Law, Buket Erdogan, said the removal of the 4111 code is one of the “most notable casualties” of the government’s July 2025 visa rule changes.
Member of Parliament Kim Johnson, said the Government’s “reckless” rule changes “deepen an already severe staffing crisis”. She said the frontline DWP staff play a crucial role “yet ministers seem content to force them out, leaving services weaker, slower and with devastating consequences for the people who rely on them”.
The Government did not challenge the PCS union’s estimate that at least 1,500 DWP staff could be affected by rule change. A spokesperson said: “We take staff welfare seriously and offer a wide range of support to colleagues working on time-limited visas”.
Andy Jalil
The writer is our foreign correspondent based in the UK.
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