Sri Lankan family among migrant care workers facing UK “Leave the Country” letters for children

The Guardian - A Sri Lankan family living and working in the United Kingdom is among several migrant households left shocked after children as young as five, legally resident in the country, were instructed by the UK Home Office to leave—even in cases where their parents have permission to remain.

The case of Varuni Arachchige, a care worker based in Perth, Scotland, has drawn attention amid growing concern over tightening UK immigration rules affecting migrant families in the social care sector.

Arachchige, originally from Sri Lanka and academically qualified in chemistry and analytical chemistry, later completed a master’s degree in sustainability and water security at the University of Dundee. She currently works in the UK care sector, while her husband is employed in a factory. Their two children, aged eight and five, are both in school and fully settled in their local community.

However, despite the family living in the UK legally since arriving in 2022 and having their visas extended, they have reportedly received correspondence from the Home Office instructing the children’s departure. The children are dependants on Arachchige’s care worker visa, along with her husband.

“We are completely shocked by the family receiving these letters,” Arachchige said, adding that the family had paid significant visa fees, contributed through taxes, and had not claimed public benefits.

The situation forms part of a wider set of cases reported by The Guardian, which has seen multiple letters issued by the Home Office instructing children to leave the UK, alongside similar notices sent to other migrant dependants, including a pregnant woman instructed to return to her country of origin without her spouse.

Migration rules for care workers have undergone significant tightening in recent years. From March 2024, care workers were no longer permitted to bring dependants such as partners or children, and further restrictions were introduced on overseas recruitment in 2025. However, many of the affected families say they arrived before the changes and expected to remain together under previously valid visa arrangements.

Legal experts and migrant support organisations have reported a rise in such cases, warning that families who entered the UK under earlier rules are now being caught in shifting policy interpretations.

In a separate but similar case, another migrant care worker, Rasika Samarasinghe—who arrived in the UK in 2022 and holds a postgraduate qualification from Northumbria University—has also been informed that his wife and three children may not be permitted to remain in the country.

“I don’t know what to do,” Samarasinghe said, adding that both he and his wife are working and paying taxes, while their children are settled in school and fluent in English. “We have done everything legally in this country.”

Legal representatives argue that such cases place migrant workers in an impossible position between maintaining essential roles in the UK’s social care system and preserving family unity.

“These workers care for vulnerable people, yet the rules can prevent them from caring for their own families,” said Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors.

Migrants’ rights groups have also criticised the policy direction, describing the enforcement of “leave the country” instructions to children as deeply distressing and disproportionate, particularly for families already contributing to essential services.

Responding to the concerns, a UK Home Office spokesperson said the government would continue to welcome those who contribute to the country but insisted that immigration rules must be enforced.

“We must restore order and control to our borders,” the spokesperson said, adding that settlement “must be earned” under the UK’s legal migration framework.