Thanks for your reply John
With re: to a 'clear path to settlement',well, that seems to have been the idea behind the HSMP as well. The only argument that would hold water would be whether my wife's rights as a UK national are being breached as her spouse is discriminated against in the labour market
There have been no concrete guidelines issued with re: to spouses of UK nationals..or any other visa category,for that matter. The DoH have steered clear of naming any particular visa category in order to avoid being accused of discriminatory practices.
The latest guidelines were issued last week,after the high court ruling on the fate of HSMP doctors.
Click on the link below for the guidelines.Read the bit on 'overseas doctors'
https://www.mtas.nhs.uk/latest.html
Following are some excerpts from posts by doctors in a similar situation to mine
Post 1
The DoH Guidance on non-EU doctors are as follows:
Doctors with indefinite leave to enter or remain can work unrestricted and should be considered for employment in the same way as UK candidates.
Candidates with limited leave to enter or remain who are not currently employed on a work permit (‘able to work as authorised by the Secretary of State’) and who have no endorsement in their passport prohibiting them from taking up employment, can also be considered for employment in the same way as a UK candidate.
It should not be assumed that doctors who have insufficient leave to remain to complete the programme/post they are applying for will be successful in any application they make to the Home Office to extend their stay. The requirements they will need to meet in order to extend their stay will depend on the category of leave they have – for instance if they are here as the dependant of another migrant, they will only be able to extend their stay if the migrant whose dependant they are meets the requirements to extend their stay. In these cases, it would be reasonable for an employer to assume that these doctors may need a work permit to fulfil the contract and therefore not treat them as a UK candidate. If they are successful in securing a post, an employer should then apply for a work permit to allow them to take up the post if relevant (this will depend on the category of leave they have, and whether they are eligible to change the basis of their stay accordingly).
The Department of Health issued guidance stating that doctors with insufficient leave to enter/remain to complete the programme to which they are applying, should be considered as requiring a work permit.
This guidance was challenged through Judicial Review. The Judge handed down his judgment on 9 February 2007 and found the guidance to be lawful. The Department of Health is carefully considering the detailed implications of the judgment, particularly in relation to recruitment to specialty registrar programmes. Further advice on the position of applicants to the current recruitment round will be issued shortly.
In short, it doesn't matter whether you have a spouse visa or HSMP. The only non-EU doctors that would be free from any immigration restrictions are those with ILR (settled status)
Post 2
With regards to UK/EEA spouses, the DoH referred me to this:
A 'resident worker' is a person who is a European Economic Area (EEA) national or has settled status in the UK within the meaning of the Immigration Act 1971, as amended by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.
Apparently the probationary status of the spouse visa is not applicable to the "resident worker" definition. It would thus seem that those on spouse visa would be considered on par with UK/EEA candidates only if they complete the probationary period and apply for settled status.
I know that candidates in other categories, such as UK Ancestry Visa, are having similar problems. Although the visa would eventually lead to settled status, because they do not have settled status at present, they are being grouped as IMGs (as doctors holding insufficient leave to remain and requiring work permit).
Check out the NHS employer's take on who a 'resident worker' is
http://www.nhsemployers.org/workforce/w ... e-1486.cfm
I have spoken to NHS Careers helpline, MTAS & Home Office about this but none of them were able to give me a clear answer. I remember receiving a bunch of paperwork from the Home Office with various dos & donts when I received my spouse visa but I binned it as it was mostly t do with benefits, social housing etc
Your help & advice would be much appreciated
