There are currently many recruitment challenges within the healthcare sector including staff shortages due to low salaries, candidates without much experience or qualifications, and struggles with retention due to high staff turnover.
One approach to address this has been the reliance on using a temping agency or locum staff, however, these tend to be more expensive and, in some cases, can lack the full commitment to a specific establishment or workplace.
Alternatively, to fill many of the current healthcare vacancies, employers are increasingly looking to hire overseas applicants. This not only expands the pool of potential talent available to employ but also contributes to a more diverse workforce. The correct process must be followed to ensure compliance and eliminate the risk of sanctions, Passportia can guide businesses through this.
The main route is through the Health and Care Visa which is a specific sub-type of the main Skilled Worker Visa. The visa is available for those who are taking on a role in eligible health or social care jobs or who are a qualified doctor, nurses, healthcare professionals or adult social care professionals. There are several unique application requirements within these sectors when seeking international recruits.
The differences between a Health and Care Visa and the standard Skilled Worker Visa include different salary requirements, removal of the Immigration Health Surcharge and the need for an establishment to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to apply for a Sponsor Licence. Applicants will also need to demonstrate their qualifications for certain roles.
Passportia, through the use of the AORA immigration platform, can easily flag any non-approved SOC code allowing you to take relevant action.
Sponsor Licence
As with most situations, businesses in the healthcare sector that want to employ non-UK citizens will still need a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence. Passportia can assess whether the business qualifies and can prepare the application at a very competitive fee. A Sponsor Licence is a strategic investment for the future, a form of insurance for ensuring operational stability and a means to enhance the level of care provided by the business.
In some cases, an existing sponsor licence in a company group or co-owned business can be extended to other businesses in the group. Ideally, one licence covers the whole group, providing flexibility in assigning migrant workers to facilities.
Compliance and SMS Management
Passportia can conduct ongoing compliance audits to ensure that the sponsored staff are managed in a way that is compliant with the rules. This is important as responsibility does not stop once a visa is issued.
Passportia can also manage your Sponsor Management System (SMS) to ensure that it is kept up to date and notified of staff or other relevant changes.
What can Passportia do for your visas?
There are many different ‘moving parts’ when considering international recruitment. Passportia will support and work with you to ensure the Sponsorship and Visa application process is compliant and completed as quickly and efficiently as possible. There is a report showing outcomes for a variety of scenarios.
Before a job listing is published, Passportia can assess the eligibility of a proposed job and compute the minimum salary required. Automated justification letters and reports are issued to demonstrate a high level of due diligence which is often overlooked but is essential should a compliance check be conducted.
For each potential applicant for a particular job, Passportia can assess eligibility for a Health and Care skilled visa as applicants will need to be qualified doctors, nurses or health professionals. Detailed reports are also issued explaining eligibility, costs and timings for a proposed period of sponsorship.
For the candidate chosen, Passportia can then prepare and submit the application for the Certificate of Sponsorship and visa (entry clearance) or further Leave to Remain, filling in all the Home Office UKVI forms.
Our immigration platform, AORA, collects data and document scans from staff and job applicants using intelligent, smartphone-friendly, white-labelled questionnaires. This approach ensures your chosen applicant has a great initial user experience with the UKVI application process as their first step in securing a new opportunity in the UK.
Passportia is powered by AORA Mobility
Passportia, an OISC-regulated company, uses the AORA Mobility platform to deliver increased time savings and higher levels of data consistency through the application of AI and process automation to Work Visa cases. Using AORA requires less staff time and reduces repetitive manual tasks, in many cases, users can save up to 75% of their time when compared to traditional manual processing.
Because of this increased efficiency, Passportia can offer very competitive prices for these services compared to traditional immigration consultancies and lawyers as clients are not being charged for practitioners' time to perform these tasks manually.
AORA is also available for organisations to use directly. By leveraging AORA, your in-house teams can also work more effectively, freeing their time to focus on other value-added tasks. Equally, if you prefer to outsource this process, you can still benefit from greatly reduced costs when compared to traditional immigration consultancy services.
Are you currently outsourcing skilled worker visas? Calculate how much you could save by using Passportia: AORA ROI Calculator
If you don’t already have a sponsor licence, Passportia can make an assessment of eligibility and make the application.
Interested in finding out more? Here’s a video which explains how easily and efficiently a Skilled Worker case is completed when using AORA:
If you’re interested in exploring how a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence could benefit your healthcare institution, then please get in touch with our experts today for a consultation.
PASSPORTIA IS
- A UK immigration & citizenship law specialist
- Powered by AORA technology
- Fast, flexible, precise
Nigel Cleur Business Development Manager |