Low salaries for international graduates who want to work for the UK could be indiscriminately ‘forced’ to go back home. This is a main concern for the RCGP, who say that a certain number of hours might challenge visa obtaining at the moment for IMGs. Dr Steve Taylor says that it’s vital for IMG doctors who have completed UK training are not excluded and retained in the NHS. Offers for a part time job provides a salary that isn’t high enough to obtain visa permits.
RCGP Chair Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown says, “IMGs make up around half of GP registrars and are an essential part of the workforce. Our survey show that many have found it difficult to secure a GP role at a practice that is able to sponsor their visa, and a significant proportion have indicated that they would consider leaving the UK if these challenges continued.”
Under Home Office rules, an IMG doctor can only obtain indefinite leave to remain if they have worked in the country for five years under a skilled worker visa. The GP training programme is three years, and many IMG GPs have to secure a job with a practice that will sponsor them. In addition, IMG GPs have only four months to secure a job with visa sponsorship before they are forced to leave the country.
The Home Office-recognised going rate for a salaried GP is £73,113. But the RCGP told GPonline that some international medical graduate (IMG) GPs applying for ARRS roles have struggled to secure visas because the pay on offer is below the recommended rate.
The DHSC has been approached for a response.
Source: GPonline, Unsplash
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