Offer healthcare workers on tier2 visa ILR after 2 years instead of 5 years
The Parliament petitions site records 52,962 signatures for this petition, which closed on 20 July 2023. The Government responded on 13 February 2023. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 18 November 2024.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Offer healthcare workers on tier2 visa ILR after 2 years instead of 5 years
Healthcare workers are meant to have lived in the UK for at least 5 years before they can apply for ILR. With the work they do and the demand for their skills world wide, they deserve to get residency status much quicker. Most healthcare workers are working under extreme pressure in the UK.
Many countries offer immediate residency status for occupations that are in high demand or extremely short. The UK has been a destination for most foreign nurses and doctors, it is time for the Government to show they care and also appreciate the workers by making some of the restrictions in terms of residency more favourable. This could also reduce the number of care workers leaving the country for other countries that offer better conditions.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 13 February 2023; the petitions site lists the Department of Health and Social Care as responsible. Its summary:
The Government recognises the vital contribution of overseas health workers but to qualify for ILR a person must meet various requirements including a substantial period in their sponsored occupation.
The opening 371 words of the 407-word response:
The Government recognises the significant contribution that health and social care workers from overseas have made to the level and quality of care the NHS provides.
However, Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) is based on several requirements, including a period of lawful residence in the UK without excess absences, sufficient knowledge of the English language and life in the UK, and any specific requirements of the visa route a person is on. The standard requirement of 5 years to achieve settlement is based on applicants building up ties and an ongoing commitment to the UK.
In sponsored work routes, settlement relies on applicants having worked in their sponsored job for 5 years. Other requirements, such as being able to demonstrate an adequate level of English, are important in ensuring people can properly integrate into the community. We consider being able to integrate is an important element of settlement. Whilst there are limited circumstances where people may apply for accelerated settlement, these are unsponsored routes such as Global Talent. Most routes leading to settlement require an individual to have been in the UK on an eligible route for at least 5 years, as we believe this represents an appropriate period of time for people to build ties to the UK.
The Home Office introduced the Health and Care visa which launched on 4 August 2020. This delivers and builds upon the Government’s commitment to introduce a route which makes it quicker, easier and significantly cheaper for eligible people working in health and social care to come to the UK with their families. It also benefits eligible workers in the UK, if they are extending their visa. This offer has been well received, with the latest immigration figures showing there is a sizeable uptake of this visa offer by the sector with 61,414 people being issued a visa: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2022/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-to-work.
The Government announced on 30 January 2023, as part of the ‘delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services’, that we would be relaxing the supplementary work rules. This will allow Health and Care visa holders to work more than 20 hours per week for an additional employer in health and social care should they wish without having to notify the Home Office.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 503, came from Southampton, Test.
52,403 of the signatures were from the UK and 559 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Southampton, Test | 503 |
| Brent North | 437 |
| Leeds Central | 409 |
| East Ham | 403 |
| Middlesbrough | 402 |
| Sunderland Central | 394 |
| Sheffield Central | 382 |
| Preston | 375 |
| Luton South | 373 |
| Leicester South | 350 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 8,522 |
| South East | 8,198 |
| North West | 5,742 |
| East of England | 5,372 |
| West Midlands | 4,902 |
| East Midlands | 4,175 |
| South West | 4,031 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 3,944 |
| Scotland | 2,348 |
| Wales | 1,817 |
| North East | 1,783 |
| Northern Ireland | 934 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 18 November 2024. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/631412.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
d8fb3e79caa0c802… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.