Prioritisation for specialty posts will be based on immigration status in 2027

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By Daniel Pye

Prioritisation for specialty places will continue to be based on immigration status in 2027, not NHS experience.

Earlier this year, legislation prioritised UK medical school graduates and those who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK (ILR) for specialty training places, as well as certain other countries the UK has reciprocal agreements with.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has stated it will use immigration status as a proxy until it can produce a definition for “significant” NHS experience.

It has now written a statutory instrument, which is used to refine existing legislation, that states a person with ILR will be considered in the prioritised group in 2027.

The British Medical Association has called for the DHSC to adopt five years as its definition of significant experience after this was narrowly backed by members in a vote at this year’s annual representatives’ meeting in Brighton.

Using a five-year threshold as the definition has been called “disproportionate and unfair” by IMGs.