Coronavirus: Non-British care workers feel ‘forgotten’ after NHS staff granted free visa extensions

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Non-British care workers feel they have been “forgotten” after the Home Office announced that NHS staff would be granted free visa extensions.

Priti Patel announced on Tuesday that, as part of the national effort to combat coronavirus, NHS doctors, nurses and paramedics whose visas were due to expire before October would automatically have their visas extended, free of charge, for one year.

The home secretary said she had taken the decision because NHS staff should not be “distracted by the visa process”, adding that the nation “owed them a great deal of gratitude for all that they do”.

Campaigners welcomed the decision but said non-EU nationals working in the care sector who are having to renew their visas in the coming months should also be included, as they too were ”fighting the virus on the front line”.

Around 134,000 non-British people from outside the EU work in the care sector – accounting for 9 per cent of the workforce – while 134,000 jobs are filled by EU nationals and the remaining are British.

Shantel Murray, 27, a Jamaican care worker who has been in the UK for 20 years and is saving to apply for an extension of her leave to remain next month, which will cost her £2,100, said the policy was “unfair”.

Ms Murray, who lives in Yardley, said: “What’s the different between a nurse and me? We’re both doing the same job, we’re working in the same kind of environment. Why can’t we get the same treatment? We’re on the frontline too, we’re putting ourselves at risk as well.

“I wanted to do nursing but I couldn’t because I couldn’t afford overseas student fees, so I decided to be a care worker and I’m working hard. Right now I’m doing all I can to help the community. But I just feel so undervalued.”

Ms Murray said her job had been considerably more stressful since the coronavirus outbreak started, due to staffing shortages and fear that she could be exposed to the virus, particularly after a resident at the care home tested positive and had to be placed in self-isolation.

“We’ve had agency staff come in because some of our staff have had to go self-isolate. It’s really stressful. It’s like doing double work because the agency workers aren’t familiar with how things work. It’s too much,” she said.

“I’ve got to be extra careful because if I can’t go to work I won’t get paid. I used to do extra agency shifts, but I’ve had to stop doing them because I can’t afford to put myself at risk of catching it.”

Ms Murray said she lost her previous care job after the Home Office took six months to process her previous leave to remain application, because her employer said she had to show proof of status. She spent several months without a job and – because she has no recourse to public funds – with no state support, leaving her in debt.

“The last two years have been hard for me, doing back-to-back night shifts. I haven’t got access to public funds. I can’t go on benefits, I have to work. I love my job, but it’s hard when you feel so undervalued,” she said.

Karolina Gerlich, executive director of the Care Workers’ Charity, said it was “unacceptable to make those visa extensions for the NHS and not acknowledge that social care is fighting the virus on the front line”, saying this “had to change”.

She added: “A lot of people in hospitals are being discharged to care homes. Care workers are having to look after them without knowing if they have the disease. I’m seeing so many people say they don’t know how they can carry on because everywhere they turn people are clapping for the NHS and everything else, and they feel like they’re forgotten.”

Salman Mirza, a legal adviser at immigration advice service Brushstrokes, said: “We welcome the government ensuring a number of NHS staff have been granted automatic leave to remain, however, this should be extended to all essential workers and anyone whose visa is about to expire.

“This disproportionately affects BME women working in care and risking their lives for us. This cannot be right.”

A government spokesperson said: “The government recognises the huge importance of the health and social care sector, who are providing vital services following the coronavirus outbreak.

“This week we announced a free extension for all NHS doctors, nurses and paramedics whose visas expire in the next six months. We will continue to work to see if we can assist other frontline workers during this crisis.”