The number of overseas nurses and midwives registering to work in the UK has halved compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Between April and September, only 6,321 international nurses and midwives joined the register, down from 12,534 in 2024. This decline is attributed to rising racism and changes to immigration rules.
Health organisations warn the trend will exacerbate staffing shortages in the NHS, leading to longer waiting times for patients. Suzie Bailey, workforce expert at the King’s Fund thinktank, said: “The dramatic fall in international nurse and midwife recruitment and retention should be sounding alarm bells for politicians, health and care leaders and people who rely on health and care services.”
The drop mirrors a trend among overseas-trained doctors, who are leaving the UK in record numbers, while the surge in new arrivals has plateaued, according to a recent General Medical Council report. The government has doubled the waiting period for indefinite leave to remain from five to ten years, a move critics say panders to anti-immigration sentiment.
Louie Horne, Unison’s national nursing officer, said: “For decades, nurses and midwives from around the world have brought invaluable skills to the NHS. It would be a disaster to lose that contribution. This exposes the damage inflicted by the government’s unfair and ill-conceived immigration changes. An urgent rethink is needed.”
The NMC data shows steep declines from key source countries: recruitment from India fell by 58%, the Philippines by 68%, Nigeria by 28%, and Ghana by 9%. Despite these falls, the total number of nurses, midwives, and nursing associates on the register reached a record high of 860,801, with 12% being men.
