Immigration cap for doctors and nurses visas is lifted

On Friday, 15th of June 2018, Home Office confirmed that doctors and nurses will be excluded from the visa cap under Tier 2 category. These would allow more foreign medical professionals to come to the UK to work with NHS. This change will come into effect on the 6 July 2018. 

The limit on the number of issued visas in this category was introduced in 2011: 20,700 visas per year or about 1,600 visas per month. Over the past five months, the number of applications has significantly increased. 18,517 applications were submitted from November 2017 till April 2018, with 8,330 (45%) being granted. Representatives of the NHS have repeatedly noted that the visa cap has worsened the shortage of medical staff.

These changes will give additional spaces for hundreds of skilled migrants such as engineers, IT specialists and teachers, to start their careers in the UK.