Despite Boris Johnson promising, on 21 May, that the charge would be scrapped “as soon as possible”, those applying for visas since his announcement have been told they cannot be guaranteed a refund on the fee they are still being asked to pay.
Dr Dolin Bhagawati, a spokesperson for the Doctors’ Association UK, told the Guardian: “These workers are paying up to four times over for the NHS – through their service, taxes, this surcharge and in some tragic cases with their lives.
“It is not too much to ask that this government does the honourable thing: stop this extortion and scrap this charge as soon as possible for NHS and care workers as well as for their dependants.”
He added: “The utter failure to follow through on this promise is an insult to our colleagues who have served this country during our time of need.”
Christina McAnea, Assistant General Secretary of Unison, told the newspaper: “The government should go a step further and ditch the surcharge for all overseas workers paying taxes that contribute to the economy and the NHS.”
