UK will still attract overseas doctors despite ending free movement, government insists

The government has insisted that it will continue to attract doctors from overseas despite publishing legislation to end free movement of people following the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The Immigration Bill1 introduced on 5 March will pave the way for the biggest shake-up of the UK’s immigration system for decades, creating a new points based system from 1 January 2021 that grants visas based on people’s skills, qualifications, salaries, and profession.

In November last year the Conservative Party pledged to introduce a special NHS visa to ease fears that the health service would struggle to …