Senior nursing officials have warned that the NHS and social care could collapse under the Labour government’s new immigration rules for foreign workers, calling the proposed policy “divisive, xenophobic, and ignorant.”
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), representing over 500,000 nurses across the UK and overseas, said the restrictions would devastate workforce stability and drive away vital migrant healthcare staff at a time of severe shortages.
Labour Plans to Tighten Rules for Overseas Workers
Under the proposals outlined by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, foreign workers will have to wait 10 years instead of five before applying for indefinite leave to remain or accessing state benefits such as childcare, housing support, or disability allowance.
They will also need to volunteer in their local communities and pass existing citizenship tests to qualify for British nationality. The new immigration framework, first unveiled in May’s white paper, is widely seen as a response to the growing electoral pressure from Reform UK.
Nursing Leaders Condemn “Ignorant” and “Cruel” Policy
RCN General Secretary Prof. Nicola Ranger said the plan would severely harm the UK’s health system, which depends on international nurses. “Health and care services would cease to function without migrant nursing staff,” she said. “It is pandering of the worst kind, ignorant of the impact on valued migrant staff, their families, and the patients they serve.”
Ranger added that instead of discouraging overseas professionals, the government should make the UK a “welcoming, secure place for international nurses” and focus on building a sustainable domestic workforce.
Hundreds of NHS Workers Sign Letter of Protest
More than 800 NHS professionals, including doctors, nurses, and dentists, signed an open letter coordinated by Praxis and Medact, describing the policy as “harmful, divisive, and xenophobic.” The signatories warned that the already overstretched NHS would crumble under the new rules, discouraging essential foreign staff from staying in the UK.
According to official figures, one in five NHS employees in England are not British. Healthcare unions warn that extending the settlement period could trigger a mass exodus of foreign workers from hospitals, care homes, and social services.
A social worker told The Guardian that up to half of his team would likely leave the UK if citizenship became harder to obtain. “It’s foolish and cruel,” he said.
Migrant Families and Children at Risk of Poverty
Research by the IPPR think tank shows that 1.5 million children in migrant families live in poverty—around a third of the UK’s total—largely because their parents are excluded from state support during long settlement periods.
Charities and campaigners have repeatedly urged the government to end what they call a “punitive” and “destitution-inducing” route to settlement.
The government said the plans are still under consultation. A spokesperson insisted the UK remains “grateful to overseas healthcare workers,” but reiterated that “net migration must come down.”
Officials added that under the proposed model, migrants could shorten the 10-year wait through “contributions to the UK economy and society.”
