Government extends free visa extensions to a wider group of front-line health workers and to social workers

Home Office

Migrant midwives, radiographers, social workers and pharmacists (NHS and independent sector) and family members

Introduced on 29 April 2020 with immediate effect. Applies to visas expiring before 1 October. Expands on previous announcement on 31 March – clarification on this announcement also provided in letter to Home Affairs Select Committee on 29 April

To relieve pressure on the NHS so it can focus maximum effort on responding to COVID-19 and saving lives

The government announces that an expanded group of health care workers will benefit from an automatic 1-year extension on visas expiring before 1 October 2020. Previously an extension was granted to NHS doctors, nurses and paramedics; it now includes NHS and independent sector midwives, radiographers, social workers and pharmacists, and their dependents. Family members and dependents of health care workers who die from COVID-19 are to be offered immediate indefinite leave to remain. The letter to the Home Affairs Committee clarifies that the offer applies to all workers subject to immigration control, not just sponsored workers on Tier 2 or Tier 5 visas, on NHS trust confirmation. The Home Office describes the sector-specific challenge of a similar visa extension for social care worker visas.