Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in the negotiations between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office regarding the approximately 1,000 foreign GPs working for the NHS who are threatened with deportation because they do not meet the requirements of the skilled worker scheme.

Deportation relates to the removal from the UK of Foreign Nationals who are serious or persistent criminal offenders. It is wrong to suggest 1,000 foreign national GPs fall within this category or to imply they have been threatened with this by the Home Office. We therefore would not be having any negotiations with the Department for Health and Social Care on this basis.

General Practitioner (GP) is a role which qualifies for the Skilled Worker Visa, in particular the Health and Care visa which makes it easier, cheaper, and quicker for health workers – including GPs - to come to the UK to work compared to other immigration routes. This route also exempts them from the need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.

The Home Office works with employers in the sector to ensure they can recruit under the Skilled Worker route by becoming a licensed sponsor, with tens of thousands of employers having done so, including many small and medium size businesses. Those who are licensed sponsors can recruit for any role which qualifies for the Skilled Worker Visa.