Home Office grants final visa extension for overseas sheep shearers

The Home Office has granted a one-year extension allowing overseas sheep shearers to work in the UK after warnings that millions of sheep could go unshorn this spring.

The temporary visa concession, first introduced in 2011, allows up to 75 shearers from Australia and New Zealand to travel to the UK each year to help during the peak shearing season.

These workers help shear between 1.5 million and 2 million sheep annually, supporting farms during a short but critical seasonal window.

The Home Office has now confirmed the scheme will run until 30 June 2026 and will not be renewed beyond that date, following strong concern in the sector after the government initially refused the concession for this year.

“The sector has been supported for 14 years to enable it to train up British workers, reduce reliance on migrant labour, and provide a fully sustained workforce within the UK,” a Home Office spokesman said on Tuesday (10 March).

“A final extension has been provided to the sector. We now expect the sector to complete its transition to using domestic labour.”

It is understood the decision to extend the visa concession was made after evidence was submitted by Defra at a late stage.

The announcement follows concerns raised by the sheep sector in February after the Home Office initially refused the annual concession.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) warned at the time that the refusal risked dismantling a long-standing international exchange that supports labour supply, training and skills development in the sheep sector.

For decades, shearers from Australia and New Zealand have travelled to the UK during the spring and summer.

At the same time, British shearers travel overseas to extend their season, develop skills and build professional networks.

The NSA said this exchange supports animal welfare, productivity and the long-term resilience of the workforce.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “Shearers can visit the UK from Australia and New Zealand each spring and summer as part of a huge international exchange, in which shearers and shepherds travel the world making industry connections.

“It remains to be seen how our UK shearers and wider agricultural labourers may now fare as the UK negotiates future trade agreements,” he said.

Despite the temporary extension, industry bodies say concerns remain about the long-term future of the arrangement.

Without overseas workers, the NSA has warned that pressure could increase on animal welfare and on already stretched farm labour during the peak shearing period.

NSA policy manager Michael Priestley said the issue reflects wider challenges in developing skilled domestic labour.

“The industry has successfully secured a concession every year, but this year the issue is being handled differently,” he said.

He said ministers believe the sector has had sufficient time to fill the gap domestically, but argued this overlooks the realities of the profession.

Despite between 800 and 1,000 people being trained annually, he said becoming a professional shearer requires years of technical refinement, physical conditioning and industry contacts.

Industry bodies say they will continue working with government to secure a long-term solution for the sector’s seasonal labour needs beyond 2026.