Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of allowing international medical graduates to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK following the completion of GP specialty training on the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of NHS GPs.

The Home Office have delivered a range of measures to support the health and care sector to recruit International Medical Graduates (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.

IMGs who have undertaken GP training are eligible to apply for ILR after completing five years on the Health and Care visa route, in line with IMGs in other fields and work visa routes in general. The government does not intend to change this policy to treat a specific group more favourably than the people on the route as a whole.

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.