Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nurses from the Philippines have been recruited to work in the NHS under Tier 2 visas in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.

The table below shows the number of Certificates of Sponsorship for employment as a nurse that were used in applications from Filipino nationals for Tier 2 entry clearance visas:

The figures above include applications sponsored by all Tier 2 employers, including the NHS. The cost of obtaining figures for nurses sponsored by NHS employers would be disproportionate.

Additionally, the number of Certificates of Sponsorship used in entry clearance applications may not directly correlate with the number of Filipino national nurses recruited to work in the United Kingdom under Tier 2. For example, an individual may have used their Certificate of Sponsorship in an unsuccessful visa application, or may subsequently have decided against taking up a post.