Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessments she has made of the potential merits of the proposals to expand the graduate visas to include International Medical Graduates such as GPs who have completed their training in the UK.

The Graduate route is intended as a post-study work offer for international students who have successfully completed an eligible course in the UK. Unlike most students completing courses in the UK, International Medical Graduates (IMGs) are already working in their chosen profession with a clear career pathway ahead of them. It is therefore the case they should be sponsored by their employer under the Health and Care visa

The Home Office have delivered a range of measures to support the health and care sector to recruit IMGs to work in the UK. The Home Office launched the Health & Care visa in 2020, which makes it easier, cheaper, and quicker for health workers – including international medical graduates - to come and stay in the UK to work compared to other immigration routes. The best way for the sector to retain IMGs is to drive up the number of GP surgeries that are Home Office approved sponsors. This will provide them with the ability to continue to renew their visa while living in the UK and to qualify for permanent settlement in due course.

We are committed to ensuring sponsorship arrangements work for IMG GPs.