The nursing workforce may be greatly impacted by new immigration laws and delayed pay. International nursing care workers may not be able to renew their visas due to England’s delayed NHS pay award.
According to Home Office-announced changes to visa regulations, the minimum wage criteria for a skilled worker visa would rise from £23,200 to £25,000, which is less than the starting pay for a band 3 NHS employee, including nursing support workers.
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – Report
We have warned home secretary Yvette Cooper in writing that entry-level NHS band 3 employees might become permanently ineligible unless the next pay award raises band 3s back above this threshold. The nursing workforce may be significantly impacted by this.
Scotland will not be impacted by the increase in the wage criteria because band 3 pay is already above the cutoff, but the visa amendments are applicable throughout the United Kingdom.
We cannot afford to lose the vital role that nursing support staff play in providing patients with safe and efficient care. They provide front-line care in all health and social care settings.
We do not anticipate that this year’s NHS Agenda for Change pay award will be implemented before April 9th, when the adjustments are scheduled to occur. Entry-level band 3 employees who are currently employed in the UK and have their visas up for renewal run the risk of losing their eligibility as a result. It’s crucial to remember that this will only impact new applications and renewals, not current visas.
Until a revised pay scale is in place, entry-level band 3 staff will not be eligible for visa renewals due to a delayed pay award, according to the letter from RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger.
“Those impacted will suffer greatly if the Home Office and Department of Health and Social Care do not take action to close this gap.”
We would like to know how this issue is being handled and if NHS employees will continue to receive visas as they await the implementation of the 2025–2026 wage award. They are not to blame for the delays they are experiencing.
If nothing is done, those who are unable to renew their present visas will have sixty days to find another job that pays more than £25,000 under the Home Office’s current sponsorship scheme.
With many care professions paying less than the new £25,000 annual threshold, the ramifications would also apply to settings like social care. Although the UK government has pledged to provide social workers with a Fair Pay Agreement, if the new threshold increase is implemented before any agreement is reached, care workers may not be able to renew their sponsorship and may be exploited by their employer.
We have already voiced our concerns to the Home Office on the protracted inquiry into the exploitation of social care workers who are internationally educated nurses. Due to the delay, these care providers are at risk from dishonest employers who are exploiting payback clauses to collect thousands of pounds from migrant care providers, trapping them in terrible situations years after they were first employed and preventing them from leaving their professions.