Campaign reply - Please help to stop the deportation of doctors

Thank you for contacting me about Indefinite Leave to Remain fees for health workers.

 

Internationally trained staff have been part of the NHS since its inception in 1948 and continue to play a vital role. I share the Government’s recognition for the significant contribution that overseas health and care workers continue to make and offer my sincere gratitude for their part in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

 

With a view to making it cheaper and easier for the best healthcare professionals to work in the NHS, the new Health and Care Worker Visa was introduced in August 2020. The benefits of this visa include fast-track entry to the UK, an exemption for from the Immigration Health Surcharge, and a reduced application fee compared to that paid by other skilled workers. I am therefore delighted to be able to confirm that applicants pay either £232 or £464 and the benefits apply to main applicants and their dependents. The visa has also been recently extended to cover care workers, care assistants and home care workers.

 

The Home Office's position, which I support, is that the right to stay indefinitely in the UK is one of the most valuable entitlements on offer. This privilege provides full access to public benefits, healthcare (without the need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge) and employment.

 

While the application fee for Indefinite Leave to Remain is currently set at £2,389, I can assure you that the Government does not generate a profit from this figure. All income generated above the estimated unit cost is used to fund the wider migration and borders system. You may also be encouraged by the fact that application fees have remained frozen since 2018.

 

HM Government continues to offer generous concessions to foreign nationals applying to work in the UK health and care sector and such offers reflect the outstanding contribution of those professionals.

 

Thank you once again for getting in touch, and if I can be of further assistance with any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.