Give foreign NHS staff certainty about right to remain

Speaking after the Home Affairs Select Committee today where the Home Office was accused of causing foreign doctors and nurses in the NHS “unnecessary distress” despite fighting Covid-19, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine said:

“It is completely unacceptable that anyone working on the front line and putting themselves in harm’s way during coronavirus crisis is having to worry about whether or not their visa will be extended. The Government must give them certainty that they will have the right to stay.

“The UK should say, loudly and unequivocally, that those who have put their lives at risk for our country are welcome to live in it. They and their families should be granted the right to settle here, without the costs or bureaucratic hurdles that usually involves.

“That’s why Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to give all foreign nationals working in the NHS and social care indefinite leave to remain in the UK. This would be a small way to recognise and celebrate the enormous contributions that people from all over the world make to our public services and our society more broadly.”