Exploring the practice of coping among non-EU migrant care workers in the UK

Abstract

Migrant care workers (MCWs) are increasingly relied upon in contemporary care economies, yet they often labour under restrictive immigration regimes and precarious employment conditions. This article explores how non-EU MCWs employed under the Health and Care Worker visa scheme in the UK cope with these constraints in their everyday work. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 20 West African MCWs and informed by practice theory, the study conceptualises coping as an enacted social practice rather than an individualised response to stress. The analysis identifies three inter-related forms of coping: collective and relational practices, hybridised caregiving practices, and tactical acts of micro-resistance. These practices, we argue illuminate how MCWs navigate legal dependency, workplace surveillance, and devalued care labour while exercising limited but meaningful forms of agency. The article extends practice theory to migrant labour and coping literature, with implications for practice further highlighted.