Most health workers in the United Kingdom consider that the indefinite visa to stay in this country is too expensive, something that affects foreigners, many of whom plan to leave for that reason, as revealed on Thursday by a House of Commons poll.
The study has been carried out by the Committee of Petitions of the Commons with a view to informing the deputies on this matter, who will debate it next Monday and analyze proposals from professionals in the sector.
Of the 6,991 responses, 98% were in favor of lowering the cost of visas for health workers, which currently stands at 2,389 pounds (2,718 euros) and is at their own expense.
In this sense, 100% of those who declared that they intend to apply for the indefinite visa to remain in the United Kingdom (ILR) also considered that it should be made cheaper.
91% of the total considered it fair to lower it to 243 pounds (276 euros), compared to 6% who still consider it expensive and 3% who see it as too cheap.
In this context, 63% of the total confirmed that they work in the British health system and that they intend to apply for an indefinite visa, while 11% indicated that they had already obtained it.
However, the report warned, “some foreign health workers” said they plan to leave the country due to the high cost of ILR.
Of these, 71% assured that they do not intend to apply for an indefinite visa to remain in the United Kingdom, where, for example, the average annual salary of a nurse is between 33,000 and 35,000 pounds (37,549 and 39,825 euros), according to estimates from the Royal College of Nursing.
“I am a single mother and my two children have recently been with me in the UK. I cannot afford the cost of the ILR for myself and my two children. With the salary of nurses and the cost of living, a single mother cannot afford it, ”explained a professional in the Petitions Committee report.
One of its members, the Labor deputy Tonia Antoniazzi, will open the debate next Monday, but it has already advanced today that the results of the survey are “shocking.”
“Many of those who work in the National Health Service (NHS) are not the only ones who are low paid, also those who have come to the UK to work in the NHS face exorbitant costs to apply for indefinite stay,” added the parliamentarian in a statement.
This article is originally published on quepasamedia.com