Up to 50,000 migrant nursing staff could be at risk of leaving the UK over Indefinite Leave to Remain proposals, damning new research from the RCN has warned
Up to 50,000 migrant nursing staff could leave the UK if ministers press ahead with plans to extend the qualifying period to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), new research from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has revealed.
It comes as the Home Secretary prepares to announce fuller details and launch a consultation on the immigration measures, which include increasing the qualifying period from 5 to 10 years.
The College is today [Thursday 20 November 2025] calling on the government to reverse its plans which it says will deepen the nursing workforce crisis, threaten patient care, and set back the government’s flagship NHS reforms. It also says that the measures amount to a ‘betrayal’ of migrant nursing staff, many of whom came to the UK in 2020 to support the response to the Covid-19 pandemic but now face uncertainty about their value and futures here.
Without ILR, migrant nursing staff are unable to move easily between jobs with their visas tying them to their employers, which has led to well-documented exploitation in the social care system. It also leaves them unable to access state support like child benefit and disability support payments despite paying taxes in the UK and facing greater risk of financial hardship than their UK-trained colleagues, as they are subject to no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition.
The RCN is calling on the government to instead offer nursing staff settled status on arrival like competitor nations such as New Zealand and Canada.
In the new research, the RCN surveyed over 5,000 migrant nursing staff, with 60% of those who don’t have ILR saying the decision to extend the qualifying period would ‘very likely’ affect their decision to remain in the UK. Mapped against the number of migrant nursing staff currently on entry clearance visas, it could mean as many as 46,000 migrant nursing staff could be at risk of quitting the UK [NOTE 1].
The proposals have created profound distress amongst migrant nursing staff, with 53% being extremely concerned about the impact on their financial security, 52% extremely concerned about the impact on their family life, and a further 49% extremely concerned about the impact on their career.
The research also found that the proposals could deeply damage the pool of internationally educated nursing staff coming to the UK, with only 11% of respondents saying they would have come to the UK had the route to settlement originally been 10 years. It also comes as the number of domestic students choosing to study nursing continues to fall, with accepted applications down 22.4% since 2021.
In response to the research, a nurse from Nigeria said: “During COVID, we were needed and there were loads of incentives to bring us from around the world to come to help the NHS. We left families and loved ones behind. These proposals reveal a profound ingratitude toward those who stepped up as heroes.”
A nurse from Egypt said: “This policy change has created a wave of disappointment and uncertainty. It has shaken the sense of security we had hoped to achieve and is leading many of us to reconsider our future in the UK. Several of my colleagues are now actively thinking of other destinations where we feel secure and stable which was the reason of moving to the UK. If this trend continues, it could have a serious impact on staffing within the NHS, especially in areas already facing shortages.”
A nurse from the Philippines said: “I also have colleagues who have left the UK and are now happily working in the USA or Australia… I have a colleague who cares for her autistic daughter but couldn’t access disability funds as they don’t have ILR status yet. Increasing this to 10 years means depriving them of access to additional support to care for their child with learning needs.”
This testimony came up repeatedly across those surveyed, alongside wider concerns about how the proposals make migrants feel unwelcome in the UK. The RCN has repeatedly criticised the increasing use of anti-migrant rhetoric and policy by politicians, which it says is contributing to a surge in racist incidents.
The UK Government is expected to launch their consultation on the proposals to extend the qualifying period for ILR later this week. The RCN is also calling upon the government to cut the application fees for ILR, which remain extortionately high at £3,029 per person, five times the estimated processing cost [NOTE 2].
Responding to the findings in the RCN’s report, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said:
“These proposals are not just immoral; they would be dangerous for our patients. No Minister who has any interest in the success of our health and social care system would press ahead with extending the qualifying period for ILR. At a time when the government is failing to grow the domestic nursing workforce, it risks pushing tens of thousands of highly-skilled nurses out of the UK.
“Many of those who will soon be applying for ILR came to the UK during the pandemic, at great personal sacrifice. This is no way to repay them and amounts to a betrayal. Our international colleagues deserve clarity over their futures, not to be used as political footballs by politicians and left unable to access state support despite working in public services and paying taxes.
“If the UK government continues to show nursing staff they aren’t welcome here, they shouldn’t be surprised when they decide to leave. The reforms to the UK’s immigration system make their reforms to the NHS less likely to succeed and don’t serve the interest of our patients or nursing staff.”
Ends
Notes to editors
NOTE 1 – We asked nurses, “If the qualifying period for ILR is extended, how likely is it that this change would influence your decision to stay in the UK long-term?”. The estimate of 46,000 nursing staff at risk of quitting is based on a calculation of 60% of the total of 76,876 entry clearance visas granted to nursing professionals since Q1 2021. While some nursing professionals will have already left within the intervening period, nursing professionals arriving before Q1 2021 may still be impacted if they have not applied for ILR (Immigration system statistics data tables – GOV.UK).
NOTE 2 – In 2003, applications for ILR cost just £155. This is in stark contrast to ILR application fees today of £3,029 per person, despite an estimated processing cost of £523.
