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The postgraduate doctor visa and postgraduate dentist visa for immigration to the UK allow a doctor or dentist who has qualified either in Britain or abroad to undertake postgraduate training.

To be eligible for the doctor visa or dentist visa you must register with the General Medical Council or the General Dental Council before you can begin postgraduate training.It is important to note that this type of UK visa service is not a work permit visa. If you are interested in a position other than a training post, please see the appropriate sections of the site or contact an immigration consultant at Global Visas for information about UK Work Permits and the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme or HSMP.

Worldwide Visa Services( TNS) can help you to select the most appropriate option for your relocation to Britain whether for a short-term stay on a visit visa or tourist visa or for a long-term move under HSMP or one of the UK business visa categories. As a specialist UK immigration consultancy, we can take care of every stage of the application process from immigration lawyer advice through to a comprehensive package of on arrival services.

Benefits

UK visas of this kind allow those already studying in the UK under a UK study visa to switch into the postgraduate visa service, so long as they meet the requirements set out below. In addition, a study visa extension via this route will allow applicants to remain in the country if they successfully switch to another UK immigration service during their time in Britain, for example, a UK work permit or the Highly Skilled Migrant Program. Another option for receiving training or work experience in Great Britain is the Training and Work Experience Scheme or TWES. However, unlike post-graduate visas TWES applicants are required to leave the country at the culmination of their training and must spend a period of 1-2 years outside Great Britain before they can return under a standard permit to work.

Duration

The post-graduate doctor visa and post-graduate dentist visa are initially issued for a three-year period and can be extended to four years for basic specialist training. For a position in higher specialist training, an application may be submitted for permission to stay for longer than four years, and extensions may be granted for up to three years at a time. Neither option under the UK postgraduate visa scheme may be regarded as a route to settled status in Great Britain and both are intended solely for the purpose of undertaking training. Postgraduate visas for Doctors and Dentists will not lead to the opportunity to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR) or permanent residence and do not offer a route to British Naturalization as a UK citizen.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants for postgraduate doctor visas or postgraduate dentist visas must be able to show that they fulfil the following.

Applicants must be able to prove their status as a doctor or dentist.
Applicants must be registered, or be eligible to be registered, with the General Medical Council or General Dental Council.
Applicants must plan to carry out postgraduate doctor or postgraduate dentist training in a hospital or the Community Health Services (or both).
Applicants must not have already spent four years in postgraduate training in the United Kingdom (this does not include the 12 months worked as a house officer).
Applicants must plan to leave the country on completion of their training.

Applicants from overseas who have qualified abroad will also have to pass an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test and a Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test.

Applicants from Overseas must also apply for UK entry clearance prior to entering Great Britain.

Dependants

Doctor visas and Dentist visas for postgraduates are a component of a category of British immigration referred to as Permit Free Employment, a classification which incorporates the various specific groups of people coming to Great Britain who may undertake employment without a working permit. Accordingly, spouse immigration and dependant immigration for children under 18 years of age is permitted and your dependents may join you in the United Kingdom providing that they have secured entry clearance. As dependents of applicants qualifying for permit free employment, your spouse or unmarried partner will be able to work in Britain in much the same way as that afforded by a marriage visa or fiancé visa.

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