Ministers do not know how many NHS staff affected by immigration changes
The Government does not know how many NHS staff will be affected by its changes to immigration rules, a health minister has admitted, amid a consultation on reforms.
Health minister Karin Smyth said her department did not have information on how many NHS workers nationally would be affected by the Government’s plans.
The Government is planning to extend the period needed for people to get settled status after they arrive in the UK. Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) will be granted only after 10 years, and if a specific set of circumstances have been met.
Doctors and nurses working in the NHS have exemptions from the proposed new rules. However, staff working in social care and private healthcare – which has had NHS cases contracted out to it to cut down backlogs – will be affected.
The policy was announced last year as Labour sought to toughen its credentials on immigration and cut the number of people arriving in the UK.
Labour MPs, including Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole), have criticised the approach as pandering to Reform and “un-British”.
Trade body the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the current plans would be a “grave error” while the Unison union said the proposal would split parts of the NHS into “high and low skilled”.
In response to a written parliamentary question by Mr Duncan-Jordan, Ms Smyth said: “The department does not hold information on the number of existing National Health Service workers nationally … who could be affected by proposed changes to the rules on indefinite leave to remain.”
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson told the Press Association it was important the NHS is not “over-reliant on international recruitment” and said its workforce plan will be published in the spring.
A consultation on proposals to reform indefinite leave to remain will close in a fortnight.
Current rules mean people who have lived in the UK on specific valid visas for five years automatically qualify for indefinite leave to remain. However, this would double to 10 years for many people and could be up to 15 years.
They would also have to meet a set criteria including language proficiency and making a “sustained and measurable economic contribution”. The Government will also make it harder for visa holders to bring dependants.
Introducing the consultation in November, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “To become a part of this country, permanently, is therefore not a right but a privilege – and one that must be earned.”
Responding to the written question, Mr Duncan-Jordan said: “The Government is pushing through sweeping immigration changes, yet the Department for Health and Social Care does not even know how many NHS and care workers will be affected. That should ring alarm bells.
“We have the troubling situation where the left hand of Government does not seem to know what the right is doing – with the Casey Review promising a new strategy for social care at the same time the Home Office squeezes out the very workers keeping the sector afloat.
“This policy is designed to out-Reform Reform and chase Nigel Farage’s tail, when we should be starting from fairness and securing the skills our country depends on. Breaking our word to people already here is wrong and un-British.”
The number of people applying to come to the UK on a health and care worker visa fell by nearly half last year. Some 61,000 people applied for the visa, either as a main applicant or a dependent. This was down from 123,300 in 2024.
This came after changes last summer which ended the overseas recruitment of care workers and raised the minimum salary for skilled workers to £41,700.
The proposals say NHS doctors and nurses or people who pay a higher level of tax could qualify for settlement after five years.
But lower-qualified workers who arrived on health and social care visas during the so-called “Boris wave” from 2022 could have to wait 15 years.
Royal College of Nursing director of policy Amber Jabbal said its own analysis found one in 10 of the registered nursing workforce would be affected.
Ms Jabbal warned thousands could be “driven away” from health and care settings at a time when shortages are already in place.
She said: “International nursing staff are crucial to the functioning of our health and care services. We should be thanking them for the sacrifices they make to care for us, not seeking to make their lives more difficult.
“While the Government has stated that nurses working in the NHS won’t be directly affected by the changes, extending the ILR qualifying period for the rest of the nursing profession and registered nursing staff in social and primary care would be a grave error, causing uncertainty and denying them access to vital support. It is also a disaster for patients.”
Unison’s head of health Helga Pile said: “To introduce these life-altering rules with so many unanswered questions is nothing short of reckless.
“Every overseas worker in the NHS will be affected if they don’t already have residence rights. That will leave key workers in limbo for 15 years under these proposals and will cause chaos for long-term planning in healthcare.
“NHS staff are all part of one team but that will be split apart by the Home Office’s view about who is high or low skilled.
“Ministers must conduct a proper impact assessment on the health and care sector before these plans go any further.”
Dora-Olivia Vicol, chief executive of the Work Rights Centre, said: “We urgently need a detailed impact assessment. Without it, this consultation is a farce.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are proud that the NHS is one of the most diverse workforces in the world and we hugely value the contribution of our overseas staff.
“However, it is important we are not over-reliant on international recruitment at the expense of giving opportunities to our own homegrown talent.
“Our upcoming workforce plan, due to be published this spring, will further set out our plans for staffing the NHS to make it fit for the future.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub