Foreign nationals working as prison officers in the UK have been given a temporary exemption from new visa rules, following warnings some jails were facing a staffing crisis.

Prisons have increasingly been relying on overseas recruits, particularly from Nigeria and Ghana.

But organisations representing officers had warned jails faced losing thousands of staff, after the government increased the minimum salary requirement for a skilled worker visa.

The Ministry of Justice said the move would “ensure jails can continue to run safely with the right level of experienced staff”.

Under changes introduced in July as part of efforts to reduce migration, individuals must earn at least £41,700 to obtain a skilled worker visa, up from £38,700.

The starting salary for a prison officer is generally below this amount, particularly outside London.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) said the salary threshold changes meant jails stood to lose more than 2,500 overseas recruits, which it said would have had “a catastrophic effect on prison stability”.

Meanwhile, chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor warned earlier this year that many jails were heavily dependent on prison officers recruited from west Africa.

He said many were in danger of not having their visas renewed, which would have a “devastating effect” on prisons.

The exemption only applies to applicants already in the country and lasts until the end of 2026, with a lower salary threshold of £33,400 in place until 31 December 2027.

The POA welcomed the new exemption, calling it a victory for “common sense”.

The trade union’s general secretary Steve Gillan said: “It might not be perfect, but it will mean the prison service hopefully can remain stable.”

The association’s national chairman Mark Fairhurst added: “Our members can now go about their daily lives without the threat of removal from the country.”

The Times newspaper reported that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had initially resisted granting the exemption, arguing that the focus should be on recruiting British people.

Earlier this week, Justice Secretary David Lammy told MPs he was in discussions with Mahmood over the issue.

He stressed that he wanted to recruit more prison officers locally, but “the most important thing” was to meet the demand for prison places.

A Home Office source said prisons were being treated differently given their importance to public safety and national security.

They denied Mahmood was against the move, but said she wanted it to be temporary, with prisons hiring British workers in the future.

A Ministry of Justice source said prisons were under strain and the exemption would provide “breathing space” to structure a programme to hire more officers from the UK.

A government spokesperson said: “Net migration has already fallen by more than two-thirds under this government. We are clear numbers must fall further as we create a migration system that is controlled and fair.

“However, public safety is the first duty of any government and we must ensure jails can continue to run safely with the right level of experienced staff. This is vital given the prison capacity crisis we inherited.”

Prisons have been able to sponsor visa applications for overseas recruits since 2023 due to a shortage of British applicants.

In April, the government revealed more than 700 Nigerians had been recruited to work in UK prisons last year, with the nationality accounting for 29% of job applicants and 12% of staff hired at jails in England and Wales.

This made Nigerians the most common nationality behind Britons to apply for or be offered a job in UK prisons in 2024.

This was followed by people from Ghana, who had 140 job offers.

The Prison Governors Association has said a surge in applications from west Africa appears to have been fuelled by word of mouth and jobs being promoted online by the expat Nigerian community.