Last week, Tories unveiled visa discount for foreign doctors & nurses. Now it's emerged they won't be exempt from an increased health surcharge: £625 - which EEA migrants have never had to pay, and £200 more than fee currently paid by non-EEA workers. bbc.co.uk/news/election-…
So, future overseas NHS staff, and their families, get visa incentives to work here...but will have to pay to be treated by the NHS. Conservatives say the payments can be deducted from salaries & claim some health trusts cover the costs.
Lib Dems have picked up on this: "If an EU nurse came with their family (family of 4), they will now have to pay £1,856 as an upfront one-off cost in visa fees and £12,500 in Health surcharge for 5 year visa. That is an overall additional cost of £14,356 total."
