Petition is successful with 172 signatures
To: Priti Patel
Immigration Health Surcharge
Boris Johnson made a complete U turn on this and today the government agreed to scrap the charge for NHS and care workers.
Scrap the surcharge to be imposed on overseas health workers who will be risking their lives to work for the NHS
Why is this important?
Today the government confirmed that is pressing ahead with its plans to impose the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) which must be paid by non-EU workers on long-term visas; this includes all non-EU doctors, nurses and health workers who are working in the NHS and care services. Someone who wishes to come to work in the UK has to pay this fee before they can progress their visa application - if it is not paid their application will be automatically rejected.
The IHS must be paid once a visa application has been submitted online ; a simple redirect in the booking system takes you to the payment page. It is calculated with reference to the number of years someone wishes to remain in the UK, and in January 2019 rose to £400 per year (pro-rata) per applicant - it will shortly rise yet again to have £600. There are no discounts for dependants, including children, all of whom must pay the full IHS.
This government is seeking to financially damage the workers who it stands and applaudes each week. These are workers who are giving their all to the people of this country - they should be paid properly for this and not penalised for using the institution that they wish to serve. This country is reliant on overseas health workers and yet this government is trying to deter them from coming to work here.
