So many people who work as social care workers or even in a nurse agency are now finding it difficult to qualify for the new Health and Care Visa. There are even those who are signed up to a nursing recruitment agency right now who do not qualify and this that they are not going to be exempt from the unfair health surcharge that is applied to immigrants. The government have released even more details about the visa and the surcharge to try and make sure that everything is done to give those who need it, a fair service.

The New Plans

The new plans have been announced and they are going to make the whole visa application much faster and even cheaper for nurses. This is designed for those who work in the NHS sector or even from overseas, but it won’t be beneficial to those who are not eligible for the Tier 2 visa route. This is otherwise known as the General visa route. The government have followed up on the 14th of July with even more announcements from the IHS. The unfair fee is not just, and the RCN have campaigned against it too. The government have promised to try and make sure that those who are exempt do not pay the fee. Those who are part of the second tier therefore do not need to pay the price, but at the end of the day, anyone who has paid it will also be eligible for a refund. The problem here is that healthcare workers who do not qualify for the new visa will not be exempt from IHS. Instead, they are going to have to pay it and this is really going to work against those who are in the social care industry.