GP Practice Visa Sponsorship Guide

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This guide has been designed to support GP Practices by providing guidance and advice on how to apply for a Visa Sponsorship Licence, with UK Visa and Immigration. Becoming a visa sponsoring practice, will help support and retain GP IMGs in the NHS Scotland workforce, ensuring longer term stability of the Primary Care workforce.

You will find guidance and signposting to information about how to apply for a UKVI Visa Sponsorship Licence, as well as details of the benefits of becoming a visa sponsor, the steps involved and the costs.

Explore the range of tools and steps to support your practice become a visa sponsor.

Please note the information in this guide is in accordance with current immigration legislation and processes as of April 2025. In May 2025 the UK Government published their Restoring control over the immigration system white paper. We will update the guides as and when any proposed changes from the white paper come into force. Please always refer to the UKVI website for updates and changes on immigration legislation for the most up to date information.

Explore the GP Practice Visa Sponsorship Guide

Introduction

Nearly a third of current GP Specialty Trainees in Scotland completed their Primary Medical Qualification outside of the UK (GMC Data Explorer – Postgraduate Trainee Summaries, 2024).

For many of these doctors, entering their training programme was their first experience of living and working in the UK.

During their training, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) provides their visa sponsorship. Post-CCT, these doctors need to secure a job with visa sponsorship in order to continue to live and work in Scotland.

Once they have lived in the UK for five years, they would be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain which means they no longer need to be sponsored.