An NHS worker who has lived in the UK for 18 years says she cannot afford to renew her visa.
Marie Madrid, 33, must pay a fee of £2,600 to access the health service she now helps to provide and fears she may be asked to leave the country.
Marie, an NHS care adviser, has spent around £12,000 renewing her visa to stay in the UK over the last 10 years, but this time she can't afford the healthcare surcharge, a fee charged to most of applicants to be able to access public health services.
Marie, who lives with her husband Aled, 30, and son Cayden, 18 months, in Conwy, Wales, was not expecting to pay the £2,600 fee, thinking she could apply for indefinite leave to remain, the safest way. of immigration. status in the United Kingdom except for British citizenship.
But in April 2024, her lawyers broke the news that Marie will have to wait another two years before she can apply to stay in the UK indefinitely, and in the meantime she will have to renew her spouse visa once again, which includes the fee. of the NHS.
In total, the application will cost around £5,000, including £1,200 in legal fees, £1,048 for the visa and £2,587.50 in NHS fees, according to Marie, who fears she may be told to leave the country because she cannot can afford it. .
The mother, who finally achieved her dream of working for the NHS earlier this year, first applied for a temporary visa in 2014, known as the right to remain, before switching to a spousal visa in 2021, not knowing this would delay your indefinite request.
Marie, who has worked in private care for many years, started her new job in the NHS in March and said she is not yet eligible for the government's health and care reimbursement scheme, which allows foreign nationals working in the UK health and care sectors to claim the surcharge.
“Even though I work for the NHS, I still have to pay the surcharge,” Marie told PA Real Life.
“It doesn't make sense, because I work for them and I also pay NHS tax.
“I am what is called a care navigator, which means that I am basically the best person to answer patient questions.
“My son and husband are safe because they are British by birth.
“My fear is having to leave my baby and my husband… and it's not fair, especially because I've always tried to do things the right way.”
Her husband, Aled, added: “If everything goes wrong, I will lose my partner, the person I depend on every day.
“I couldn't survive without her.”
Marie, who was born in Hong Kong when it was still a British colony, moved to Wales in September 2006, where she completed her A-level studies before studying graphic design at university.
In 2014, after a failed attempt to renew her student visa, Marie applied for leave to remain, which gives people the right to stay in the UK for a limited period of time, usually two to three years.
Her application was accepted, which meant Marie could now legally live and work in the UK, and she soon began working as a receptionist at Gala Bingo.
A few years later, in 2017, she met Aled at work and the couple married three years later.
This meant that Marie was eligible for a spouse visa, which she obtained in 2021.
“Every time I have to apply for a visa it is very stressful,” Marie said.
“This year I was supposed to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the country, but apparently I no longer qualify for it.
“It's really frustrating because we had saved enough money for indefinite leave and I was told I didn't have to pay the NHS surcharge.
“So imagine my surprise when they said yes, and this time it's £2,587.50.”
From April 2015, those applying for temporary permission to live in the UK must pay an immigration health surcharge in addition to the visa application fee.
The charge, which helps fund the UK's national health service, has increased from £200 per year to £1,035 per year in 2024.
Marie was first granted a temporary visa 10 years ago and has so far spent £12,000 on visa renewals, including the NHS surcharge.
Under this visa scheme, you would now be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain, which allows people to stay in the UK for as long as they want.
However, when she got married, she moved to a spousal visa which has different requirements and her lawyers have confirmed that she would have to wait another two years, until 2026, and will therefore have to renew her spousal visa one last time.
Marie and her husband had not anticipated this and cannot afford the claim plus the £2,600 healthcare surcharge.
They said the “cost of living”, along with having to pay £420 a month for childcare, has pushed their wages to the limit.
Fearing she will be asked to leave the UK, Marie launched a GoFundMe fundraiser which has almost raised £1,400.
Marie, whose parents are from the Philippines, and her husband, who was born in Bangor, Wales, took out a mortgage to buy a house in November 2019.
“If everything goes wrong, how am I going to deal with it?” Aled said.
“Financially I couldn't support myself, a child and the house on one salary.
“I feel like when people have been here long enough to have paid the NHS through their National Insurance, I don't see why they should pay the surcharge.
“Most people, immigrants and people who were born here, don't have that kind of income.
“Unfair is a good way to put it.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “While we recognize the important contribution that migrants make to the UK, it is Government policy that migrants contribute to the comprehensive, high-quality NHS services available to them from the moment they arrive in the UK.
“Migrants employed in the health and social care sectors can claim reimbursement of the migrant health surcharge paid through the health and care reimbursement scheme.”
To support Marie, visit her GoFundMe.
