As Reform UK soars in the polls, migrants who have built lives in Britain face an uncertain future. The party has proposed abolishing indefinite leave to remain, which allows permanent settlement after five years, and raising salary thresholds for skilled worker visas, potentially to £60,000 a year.
Among those affected is Shin, an American doctor who came to the UK in 2015 as a medical student. She worked through the Covid pandemic as a newly qualified doctor at Croydon University Hospital, treating patients on ventilators and comforting the dying. Now a registrar at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, she is eligible for indefinite leave to remain but questions whether it is worth the cost given Reform's plans.
Shin, 44, fears that a salary threshold of £60,000 would devastate the NHS, as a registrar earns £52,656 and a resident doctor starts at £38,831. She says such a move would 'eliminate the foot soldiers of the NHS'. She also worries about microaggressions directed at doctors of colour, noting an uptick in such behaviour.
Despite her sacrifices, including not seeing her family for 18 months, Shin feels less welcome. 'I hate to think staying in the UK would be a bad decision, but it's looking less and less like a good one,' she said. 'I would love to stay, because I've built my life here, but I don't really feel that welcome any more.'
