Kamal Ghorui
Healthcare is one sector in the British economy that is facing a severe labour shortage right now. Hospitals and care homes in the UK are facing an “impending car crash” as per experts as the number of overseas nurses and carers collapses.India is the country that supplies the highest number of foreign-born staff to the NHS. However, analysis of Home Office quarterly data reveals that the number of overseas nurses granted entry to the UK has fallen by a whopping 93% over the past three years. Only 1,777 overseas nurses were granted entry in 2025, compared to 26,100 in 2022. In this situation, a post by the British Indians Voice, a community page offering support to Indians in the UK has quickly gained traction online. Taking to X, the community wrote that Indian doctors are leaving the NHS and it is a crisis “building quietly.” “We keep hearing the NHS needs Indian doctors. Here’s the truth nobody is saying loudly enough. Health and Care Worker visas issued to Indian nationals fell by 67% — and Indian doctors are now choosing to leave the UK,” said the post while adding that the reason behind the departure is not the work, but the visa insecurity, rising costs and blocked career progression. Numerous others agreed with the statement writing: “Rising cost, undervalued and underpaid” and “Blocked career progression on false pretext – denial of career growth – cost of opportunity loss offset by false assurances! Employers need to seriously introspection the true drivers of business growth and sustainability” Despite a shortage in the system, health and care worker visas issued to Indians dropped by 67% and nursing professional visas fell by nearly 79%, as per a December 2025 report by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Many of these numbers were affected by the July 2025 reforms introduced by the UK government to its skilled immigration system, aimed at reducing dependency on overseas labour and prioritising the domestic workforce. The general salary threshold was raised to £41,700 with the new entrant fee threshold increased to £33,400. Another key change was that applicants sponsored in RQF 3-5 jobs will not be permitted to bring dependants with limited exceptions to UK-born dependent children. “No hospital is likely to welcome a 93% drop in overseas nurses, at a time when 25,000 nursing vacancies remain unfilled, and no British worker will want the pressure of working a double shift,” said Dora-Olivia Vicol, chief executive of Work Rights Centre to The Guardian. Meanwhile, migrant workers face higher costs, longer routes to settlement and risk labour exploitation, she added. “Who is going to look after the people that we support? The domestic workforce is not applying, and international recruits have been excellent in the roles they fill and helped us keep the sector going,” added Nadra Ahmed, executive chair of the National Care Association. Now, it seems the doctors are moving across the coast to Australia, where clarity, demand and structured pathways make an ideal place along with the need for health care workers. “Australia offers what the UK once promised: clarity, demand, and structured pathways. A growing number of UK-trained doctors are migrating to Australia. This is a response to systemic strain. I have noticed it firsthand when students raised doubts about the waitlist in the UK,” said Dr Akram Ahmad, Pharm.D, Ph.D in Medicine from the University of Sydney to Academically.
