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Nurses have demanded that the government abolishes its “cruel” new visa rules, warning that they threaten the international pipeline of healthcare workers to the UK.
Debate around the impact of the new visa rules took place at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN)’s annual congress, being held this week in Newport.
“This hostile immigration policy is making it harder for internationally recruited staff”
Charlotte Collings
Some nurses shared sobering testimonies of their journeys to the UK, while others highlighted the impact that harsh immigration legislation can have on those wishing to come here and work.
It comes as, earlier this year, the government unveiled a series of measures to curb the number of immigrant workers coming to the UK.
Since 11 March, overseas care workers and senior care workers have been banned from bringing dependents, including partners and children, with them on their visa.
Meanwhile, nurses and other healthcare workers applying for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or British citizenship will now have to meet a salary threshold of £38,700 to bring family to the UK.
Nurses have been repeatedly sounding the alarm about the impact that these immigration policies could have on the international workforce, on which the UK continues to relies to plug vacancies.
Now, RCN members have voted for RCN Council to demand that the UK Government abolishes the new immigration rules, for the benefit of the current and future international workforce.
Charlotte Collings, who put forward the motion on behalf of the RCN Essex branch, said the rules would not make prospective employees “see the UK as an inclusive and viable place to work”.
She said: “Many see the UK as a place to permanently relocate to, but the government actively demonstrates that the UK is not inclusive.
“These colleagues are seen by our government as disposable [and] not worthy of a family life.
“This hostile immigration policy is making it harder for internationally recruited staff.”
Ms Collings argued that the contribution of the international workforce to nursing in the UK was “invaluable”.
“Without them, our services would not survive,” she said.
“We’re relying on their goodwill to provide high quality and safe care to all of our patients in health and social care settings.”
This was echoed by Judith Ellis, vice chair of the RCN international committee, who noted that the visa changes had led to an 83% decline in the number of monthly applications for skilled worker health and care visas.
She added: “Let’s be real, who would be attracted to work somewhere that they are cruelly forced to leave their families behind [and then] to find themselves alone in a country which inhumanely treats them as numbers and not as an integral part of society?”
Shiby Varughese, chair of the RCN Inner North East London branch, told RCN Congress that the visa rules were “distressing”
She described how she was recruited from Dubai as an internationally educated nurse several years ago.
“I have been through that stage and I have had to leave my family,” said Ms Varughese.
“I know what it means – it affects your mental health and it is a feeling of distress [and] frustration [as] you have no family here to support you.”
Other nurses reflected on the difficulties they have faced in applying for ILR.
East of England nurse Ruby Lopez told RCN Congress that getting ILR or citizenship was “very expensive”.
“Me and my husband took a loan a few years ago to be able to pay for that,” she said.
Meanwhile, Olga Leach-Walters, chair of the RCN South Birmingham branch, said: “Coming to the UK would be like taking out a long-term mortgage for overseas workers.
“On the Agenda for Change, a band 5 nurse will earn [around] £28,000.
“The government is now asking for a new salary of over £38,000 – £10,000 less – making it difficult for overseas colleagues to bring their family.”
This was echoed by Kelvin Ossai, a nurse from the West Midlands, who said the visa rules were making the UK “unfavourable” to international talent.
He added: “Doctors, nurses and other health workers are moving to other countries, that is because there are immigration policies and regulations that are making it unfavourable for health workers [to work here].
“I think the RCN has the voice [and] has the power to make the government change their mind.”
RCN Congress received overwhelming support for the motion, which has called on RCN Council to demand that the UK Government abolishes the new immigration rules.
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