(Un)caring for the carers: how UK visa reforms undermine inclusive nursing education and the ethics of care

In this editorial, we argue that UK immigration policy, as laid out in the Government’s May 2025 White Paper Restoring Control Over the Immigration System, represents a deliberate retreat from care ethics and inclusive education. In the face of a global nursing shortage, policies that deter the migration of nurses and carers are not just ethically indefensible, they are economically irrational. These measures do not enhance public welfare; they actively undermine the capacity of our health systems to function. What presented as control is, in fact, is a failure of foresight.