Grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, the Boris Johnson government on Tuesday extended for free the visa of nearly 2,800 doctors, nurses and paramedical staff from India and non-EU countries currently working in the National Health Service.
They will also be exempted from paying the annual immigration health surcharge of £400 for every person in the family, home secretary Priti Patel announced. It will benefit those whose visa is due to expire before October 1. The extension will also apply to their family members.
The visa extension was announced as new figures by the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of deaths is higher than those released by the Department of Health and Social Care, which releases figures of deaths in hospitals, and not those in homes and care-homes.
The Home Office also lifted the restriction on the number of hours student nurses and doctors can work in the NHS. Pre-registered overseas nurses who are currently required to sit their first skills test within three months and to pass the test within eight months, will now have this deadline extended to the end of the year as well.
Patel said: “Doctors, nurses and paramedics from all over the world are playing a leading role in the NHS’s efforts to tackle coronavirus and save lives. We owe them a great deal of gratitude for all that they do”.
{{/usCountry}}Patel said: “Doctors, nurses and paramedics from all over the world are playing a leading role in the NHS’s efforts to tackle coronavirus and save lives. We owe them a great deal of gratitude for all that they do”.
{{/usCountry}}“I don’t want them distracted by the visa process. That is why I have automatically extended their visas – free of charge – for a further year”.