New NHS visa announced

The aim of this new visa is to ensure that the NHS is able to source overseas nurses and doctors once EU free movement comes to an end post-Brexit. From the latest media reports, we now know that the visa will cost around £464, half the normal visa application fees. The new NHS visa process will be fast-tracked with decisions being made within two weeks. NHS workers applying through this new route will have access to some form of payment system in order to repay the immigration health surcharge fees in instalments via their salary once they are in the UK.

This new visa sounds promising and the reduced fee is certainly a positive step which hopefully is a sign that the government finally accepts that the current immigration system has become exorbitantly expensive for most people. The fast-track visa application process announced is less exciting, as most non-settlement visas can currently be processed via a priority service within a week for an additional fee of around £250. What will be interesting over the next few months is whether this enhanced processing is going to be offered free of charge for NHS workers, or if in the small print of the visa application paperwork there will be hidden costs attached — fees to book appointments or to scan documents, for instance — which current visa applicants often get stung by.

Again, though, this is another example of politicians claiming that an Australian style points based system will allow them to control net migration better, when the evidence and the UK’s own recent immigration history, shows that their reasoning is flawed. With ministers currently unable to say whether the Conservatives want immigration to go up or down and why we need an Australian points-based system are way overdue.