Support our call for visa rule change
Help us secure fair visa salary requirements and settlement arrangements for biomedical scientists working across UK healthcare.
Immigration policy continues to create uncertainty for internationally recruited biomedical scientists, their families and employers. Concerns cover both visa salary requirements and the Government’s Earned Settlement framework.
The IBMS has engaged with NHS England, NHS Employers, the Department of Health and Social Care and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) on the difficulties affecting the biomedical science workforce.
Visa salary requirements
Biomedical scientists are eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa, which forms part of the Skilled Worker route. The issue lies in how their salary requirements are set.
For radiographers, physiotherapists and several other HCPC-regulated professions, immigration going rates are linked to national pay scales. For biomedical scientists, the going rate is derived from earnings data for SOC 2113, “Biochemists and biomedical scientists”, as a whole. This code also covers biochemists and other scientists, many employed outside the NHS.
As a result, HCPC-registered biomedical scientists on Agenda for Change Band 5 can fall below the going rate applied to them, creating visa renewal difficulties for some internationally recruited staff. The Migration Advisory Committee’s December 2025 review recognised the mismatch between NHS pay scales and the profession’s immigration salary treatment.
Earned Settlement
The Government response to the Earned Settlement consultation, published on 2 November 2026, sets out a framework that will increase the standard qualifying period for settlement from five to ten years. A five-year pathway is retained for qualifying public service occupations listed in Annex C.
Biomedical scientists do not appear in Annex C, while several other HCPC-regulated professions do. Annex C is derived from occupations whose immigration going rates are based on national pay scales. The omission appears connected to the same salary-treatment issue.
The framework is not yet in force, and detailed rules and guidance are still to be developed. Absence from Annex C does not by itself determine an individual’s settlement eligibility.
Support the call for change
Our updated MP template letter covers both issues and can be used by biomedical scientists working in NHS, independent and charitable healthcare. It asks MPs to support:
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A going rate set by Agenda for Change pay bands for HCPC-registered biomedical scientists working in NHS services, on the same basis as comparable HCPC-regulated professions.
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Inclusion of HCPC-registered biomedical scientists in the qualifying public service occupations for the five-year settlement pathway.
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Fair arrangements for internationally recruited biomedical scientists already working across UK healthcare services, including those approaching five years’ qualifying residence.
The IBMS will write to government with these requests. We will also seek clarification on how any change would apply outside NHS employment, the arrangements for existing workers and the treatment of applications submitted before changes take effect.
Sharing your experience can help policymakers understand the impact on biomedical scientists, their families and laboratory services.
How to take part
- Copy and paste our template letter below.
- Find your MP using the UK Parliament website.
- Personalise it with your details, own experiences and circumstances where appropriate.
- Send it to your MP and ask them to raise the issue with the relevant ministers.
Together, we can help raise awareness of the challenges facing the biomedical science workforce and support efforts to secure a long-term solution.
Template letter to your MP
