Almost 50,000 nursing staff could leave UK under proposed new visa rules, RCN warns

Up to 50,000 migrant nursing staff could leave the UK if ministers press ahead with plans to extend the qualifying period to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), RCN research reveals.

It comes as the home secretary prepares to announce fuller details and launch a consultation on the immigration measures, which include increasing the qualifying period for ILR from five to 10 years.

We’re calling on the Westminster government to reverse its plans that will cause uncertainty, hardship and deepen the nursing workforce crisis, threatening patient care. We believe the plans will set back the government’s flagship NHS reforms.

We believe the measures amount to a “betrayal” of migrant nursing staff, many of whom came to the UK in 2020 to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic but now face uncertainty about their value and futures here.

Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, said: “This is no way to repay them and amounts to a betrayal. Our international colleagues deserve clarity over their futures, not to be used as political footballs by politicians and left unable to access state support despite working in public services and paying taxes.”

Above: RCN Congress, May 2025 – nursing staff react to government's stricter immigration plans

Without ILR, migrant nursing staff are unable to move easily between jobs with their visas tying them to their employers, which has led to exploitation in the social care system. It also leaves them unable to access state support like child benefit and disability support payments despite paying taxes in the UK and facing greater risk of financial hardship than their UK-trained colleagues, as they are subject to the no recourse to public funds condition.

The government must instead offer nursing staff settled status on arrival like competitor nations such as New Zealand and Canada.

We surveyed more than 5,000 migrant nursing staff –  60% of those who don’t have ILR say the decision to extend the qualifying period would “very likely” affect their decision to remain in the UK. Mapped against the number of migrant nursing staff currently on entry clearance visas, it means as many as 46,000 migrant nursing staff could be at risk of leaving the UK.

The proposals have created profound distress among migrant nursing staff, with 53% being extremely concerned about the impact on their financial security, 52% extremely concerned about the impact on their family life, and a further 49% extremely concerned about the impact on their career, our research finds.

The proposals could deeply damage the pool of internationally educated nursing staff coming to the UK, with only 11% of respondents saying they would have come to the country had the route to settlement originally been 10 years.

The Westminster government is expected to launch its consultation on the proposals to extend the qualifying period for ILR later this week. We’re also urging the government to cut the application fees for ILR, which remain extortionately high at £3,029 per person, five times the estimated processing cost.

Nicola said: “These proposals are not just immoral; they would be dangerous for our patients. No minister who has any interest in the success of our health and social care system would press ahead with extending the qualifying period for ILR.

“If the government continues to show nursing staff they aren’t welcome here, they shouldn’t be surprised when they decide to leave. The proposed changes to the UK’s immigration system make their reforms to the NHS less likely to succeed and don’t serve the interest of our patients or nursing staff.”