The British Medical Association (BMA) has written to the home secretary to take urgent measures, including automatic indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or permanent residency for international medical professionals. The Home Office was accused of causing foreign doctors and nurses in the NHS “unnecessary distress” despite fighting Covid-19. Campaigning for the visa extension rights of these medics, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said,
“It is completely unacceptable that anyone working on the frontline 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. They and their families should be granted the right to settle here, without the costs or bureaucratic hurdles that usually involves.”
