UK NHS Workers Forced to Return To Home Countries During Second Wave of Coronavirus

NHS workers are being forced to leave the UK during a second wave of Covid-19

Thousands of migrant workers in the UK have been on the frontline of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic that has devastated the country. over 13% of the NHS workforce is made up of migrants, proving that foreign workers are vital to the UK’s healthcare system. But despite the UK currently being in a second lockdown, as the number of coronavirus infections increase, many of these key workers are having to return to their home countries due to being unable to extend their current UK visas.

Unison have warned that the UK’s immigration system could be costing lives by leaving the healthcare system understaffed. They highlighted how despite the fact that the government promised to extend the visas of NHS workers, they have only extended the visas of 3,500 workers, leaving thousands of workers without extensions.

Arun’s story

Arun Kumar, a senior nursing assistant for the NHS is just one of the workers that has been forced to return to their home country.

Arun came to the UK in 2019 on a Family Visa. During the 1st wave of COVID-19 in the UK, Arun worked in an intensive care unit, he has to leave his wife and children for four months to live in university accommodation whilst he did this.

Speaking about his experience of working on the frontline of the pandemic response, Arun said:

“It was really challenging. I had many sleepless nights, not knowing when I might get infected. It was a terrible experience seeing so many patients suffering. But to add to this, there just aren’t enough staff.”

Arun was hoping that his visa would be one of those to be extending, and the Migration Advisory Committee argued that his job should be put on the UK government’s Shortage Occupation List. Despite this the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, rejected the recommendation and despite his sacrifices, Arun was forced to return to India.

Arun has described how he felt about Patel’s choice, saying:

“I was so upset when I heard about this decision. People are dying because there aren’t sufficient staff. And even then, all the government wants to do is stop immigration. These immigration measures punish NHS patients. When there are so many vacancies, it makes me so uneasy to see what the government are doing. Even if half the empty jobs were filled, so many more lives would have been saved.”

Threat to the NHS

There are currently over 100,000 positions vacant in the UK’s health and care sector, and migrants are vitally needed to fill them. But despite these staffing issues amidst a global pandemic, the Home Office is still preventing migrant workers from both staying in and entering the UK.

Do you need help to extend a visa?

If your visa is due to expire soon and you with to remain in the UK, you may be able to extend it. Our immigration lawyers can help you to apply for a visa extension, and will give you the best chance of success.

To find out whether you could be eligible to extend your visa, simply enquire online or call our team on 0333 305 9375.

The Home Office is preventing key workers from staying in the UK during a devastating second wave of Coronavirus

Arun Kumar was forced to return to India despite leaving his family for four months to work in an intensive care unit when Covid-19 first hit the UK (Image Credit: Unison)