UK visa rule abolished, docs relieved

London, Mar 9 (UNI) The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) had a landmark victory when the Department of Health (DoH) conceded to its demand to abolish the stipulation that international medical graduates would need to have a valid visa on August 1, 2007.

On February 23, the Health Department had issued a circular under which only those medicos from outside Britain who have a visa to work beyond August 1, 2007, will be considered for recruitment in advanced training courses that come under Modernizing Medical Careers (MMC).

In a sudden turnaround, the lawyers for the DoH yesterday requested the BAPIO lawyer Rabindra Singh QC, for a consultation, for which the court granted a 15-minute recess.

On returning, Mr Singh informed the judge that an agreement had been reached between the BAPIO and DoH.

It was the inclusion of Sections 19 (B) and 71 of the Race Relations Act for the hearing yesterday morning by BAPIO lawyers that appeared to have forced DoH to change its position.

The DoH lawyer told the court that the it had not addressed the matter on the basis of the Race Relations Act. He said regardless of when the leave to remain in the UK expires, all international medical graduates would be considered on par with their British and EU counterparts for the first round of recruitment for training in the National Health Service (NHS).

BAPIO had secured an emergency injunction on March 4 for staying the directive of the Department of Health that all those non-EU doctors whose visas expire on August 1, 2007, would not be considered for recruitment as trainees in the present 22,000 vacancies in the NHS.

Many of the 13,000 Indian doctors facing expulsion had succeeded in getting selected in the first round but Health Department's new stroke could have paralysed them.

''We know that as per the original immigration rule only doctors from EU member countries are now eligible for employment was not taken into account when the shortlist was prepared. Nationality was not a consideration, but the DoH stipulation could disqualify many Indian doctors who have got through the first hurdle,'' BAPIO President Dr Ramesh Mehta said.

UNI