The Home Office have announced that Doctors and Nurses will be excluded from the UK’s visa cap. This will not only provide a boost to the NHS, but will free up hundreds of visa places per month for other highly skilled sectors such as architects, engineers and Tech.

The visa cap is for Tier 2 work visas and forms part of the government’s approach to controlling net migration. The cap has been exceeded for the last 6 months. Once the cap is reached in any given month, essentially the Home Office rank non-shortage occupation roles by salary level. The minimum salary required over the last 6 months has averaged at around £55,000. This salary level has prevented many UK employers from obtaining Tier 2 visas for their staff.

From 6th July, it is estimated that around 8,000 extra visa places will now be available per year. This will ease the pressure on the cap, currently set at 20,700 per year. Essentially, the extra places available will reduce the salary threshold to a more normal level, allowing businesses to continue recruiting the best global talent to the UK.