Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the removal of RQF Level 3-5 dental professionals from the list of Skilled Worker Visa eligible sponsored roles on patient access to dental care.

Dentists, dental surgeons and other dental practitioners, including orthodontists, meet the raised skills threshold of Regulation Qualification Framework (RQF) level 6 or above and continue to remain eligible for the Skilled Worker visa.

Those individuals already in the Skilled Worker route in dental professional roles at RQF 3 to 5, who have a certificate of sponsorship issued before 22 July 2025, can continue to work and extend their visas as long as they meet occupation salary thresholds. However, as these roles do not meet the new skills threshold of RQF level 6 or above, new visa applicants after 22 July are not eligible.

The numbers recruited from overseas into the dental professions are relatively low when compared to other healthcare professions such as nurses or doctors. In the second quarter of 2025, 29 dental nurses and 38 medical and dental technicians (including, though not exclusively, dental therapists and hygienists) were granted Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visas.