In an open letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, we have stressed that the abrupt removal of key roles – both medical and dental technicians (code 3213) and dental nurses (6113) from eligibility for the skilled worker visa from 22 July, will exacerbate shortages in a wide range of roles including dental therapists, dental hygienists, orthodontic therapists, and dental nurses.
Changes will also have knock-on effects on the supply of dentists, given these codes are often used by overseas qualified dentists to work in other dental roles while waiting to sit the professional registration exams which are highly oversubscribed and can take years to complete. This is simply not the way to reduce the overreliance on overseas talent, as training new members clearly won’t happen overnight.
“Changes to immigration rules for skilled dental team members risks deepening an access crisis already felt by millions," warns BDA Chair Eddie Crouch.
“Everyone agrees we should be focused on building home grown talent, but this cliff-edge approach is careless and will be felt by patients the length and breadth of this country.”
We have called for both occupational codes 3213 and 6613 to be retained in the Immigration Rules without changes, so that individuals currently applying for visas will receive them. Failing this, we will be pressing for these codes to appear in the new temporary shortage list as of 22 July 2025.