Doctors and nurses to be taken out of Tier 2 visa cap but not dentists
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- Published: Tuesday, 19 June 2018 07:34
- Written by News Editor
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The Home Office has confirmed that doctors and nurses are to be excluded from the cap on skilled worker visas, but not dentists or DCPs. The move will mean there will be no restriction on the numbers of doctors and nurses who can be employed through the Tier 2 visa route, but the problem of recruiting dentists from non-EU countries remains acute.
The Tier 2 visa route, which has had an annual cap of 20,700 since 2011, has in recent months seen the number of applications exceed the monthly allocation of available places. This has been driven, in large part, by demand from the NHS, which accounts for around 40% of all Tier 2 places. The change was outlined in the Immigration Rules laid before Parliament today.
The Home Office says that as well as providing a boost to the NHS, it will also free up hundreds of additional places a month within the cap for other ‘highly skilled occupations, such as engineers, IT professionals and teachers’.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: “I recognise the pressures faced by the NHS and other sectors in recent months. Doctors and nurses play a vital role in society and at this time we need more in the UK. That is why I have reviewed our skilled worker visa route.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “Overseas staff have been a vital part of our NHS since its creation 70 years ago. Today’s news sends a clear message to nurses and doctors from around the world that the NHS welcomes and values their skills and dedication. It’s fantastic that patients will now benefit from the care of thousands more talented staff.”
The Tier 2 cap forms part of the government’s approach to controlling net migration. It relates to certificates of sponsorship which are applied for by UK employers looking to bring in non-EU skilled workers. Before December 2017, the cap, which was set on the advice of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), had only been reached on one occasion. However, it has been reached every month since last December. When the cap is reached, places are scored using a points-based system, with top priority given to jobs on the shortage occupation list. The shortage occupation list already includes a number of medical professions and no role that is part of this list has ever been refused.
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