UK relaxes work visa criteria for Bangladeshi caregivers

Bangladeshi social and health care workers await a rare opportunity to work in the United Kingdom as the government there temporarily relaxed work visa conditions to render care to their ailing citizens amid Covid-19 pandemic, officials said.

Commercial counsellor of Bangladesh High Commission in the UK, SM Jakaria Huq on Tuesday sent a letter to the secretary of Ministry of Labour and Employment Md Ehsan E Elahi to take necessary measures to send some health care workers to the UK, an official of the Labour and Employment Ministry, said.

The memo was also posted to Senior Commerce Secretary, Secretary to the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division and Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), respectively.

The UK government announced On December 24 that some immigration rules were temporarily relaxed for overseas caregivers in a bid to recruit them in the UK hospital and healthcare facilities.

Social care workers, care assistants and home care workers are to become eligible for a period of 12 months to serve UK citizens.

Bangladesh’s commercial counsellor also mentioned in his memo some key features about the new visa system.

The offer stipulates that a worker will be entitled to an annual minimum salary of 20,480 sterling pounds or $27,445 for his or her services.

The Health and Care visa will allow applicants and their dependents to benefit from the fast-track visa processing, dedicated resources in processing applications and discounted visa fees.

The standard application fee for a health and care worker visa is £232 per person for those who will stay in the UK for up to three years and £464 per a person willing to stay more than three years. The visas can last for up to five years before they need to be extended.

The temporary measures are expected to come into effect early next year and will be in place for a minimum of 12 months.

The UK government has allocated a visa boost fund worth 462.5m dubbed Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund.

More details on health and care visas can be accessed through the following website-www.gov.uk.

There are only 66,958 registered nurses in Bangladesh and 46 percent of them work in the public sector. A majority of them work in metropolitan areas. While there are some 5.8 nurses for every 10,000 people in the country’s urban areas, there are only 0.8 nurses for the same number of people in the rural areas.

"We have been informed that at least 30,000 care workers will be selected from across the world by the UK health authorities,” said Dr. Ahmed Munirus Salehin, Secretary to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.

He told Business Insider Bangladesh that the aspiring candidate have to qualify The International English Language Testing System exams and get above 5 score to avail the opportunity, among others.

"We will look into the UK health authority's offer to take appropriate measures."

The secretary also said the process of hiring of 15,000 Bangladeshi nurses and technicians is going on in different government hospitals in Kuwait through the medium of Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESEL).

Both male and female candidates have the opportunity to apply. This information has been obtained from the notification published on the website of Boesel, he added.