Today the Home Secretary – Sajid Javid MP – announced that more highly skilled doctors and nurses would be allowed to enter the country through the Tier 2 visa route. The number of Tier 2 visa entries had reached its allocated limit and I had been calling on the Home Office to re-examine Tier 2 visas and consider allowing more health professionals into the UK.
I wrote to Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes MP on 16th May calling for Tier 2 visa rules to be “thoroughly examined moving forward so that we can ensure our immigration system is supporting and enhancing our vital public services as much as possible”. I pointed to the cases of 11 doctors who had unsuccessfully applied for visas to come and assist services in Worcestershire Royal Hospital, which is operating under special measures, and said that he was “in no doubt that this additional staffing in Worcestershire would have been of great benefit to local people”. It has not been confirmed whether these 11 doctors will be some of those to benefit from today’s announcement.
I am extremely pleased with the decision by the Home Secretary to allow more skilled doctors into the UK and wholeheartedly support an immigration system that incentivises incoming skilled labour to support our public services, particularly our hospitals.
The mandate for controlling our borders given to the Government by the referendum does not mean closing ourselves off to the world, it means being able to encourage people who will be of real benefit to this country to come to the UK and ply their trades here. I am delighted that relaxed rules are also set to allow more teachers, engineers and IT professionals to enter the UK, as an effective immigration system can be a driver of growth and innovation across every sector.