PERMIT-FREE TRAINING:
Employment in the UK is restricted, and overseas nationals normally require a work permit. Doctors undertaking Postgraduate training in hospital or community health services (but not in General Practice) may be employed without a work permit subject to certain conditions, an arrangement called "Permit-Free Training"(PFT), which is administered by the Immigration and Nationality Division (IND) of the Home Office.
To qualify for permit-free training you must:-
- Hold or be eligible for Full or Limited GMC registration
- Have evidence of appointment to a training post or programme
- Be able to maintain yourself and any dependants without recourse to public funds
- Intend to leave the UK on completion of training
If you are not yet eligible for GMC registration (e.g. pending PLAB test) or have not yet obtained a training post, you should have visitor status (which does not allow you to take any paid employment), and you can apply to switch to PFT when appropriate.
Overseas nationals who graduate from UK medical schools having had a student visa must switch to PFT in order to do pre-registration house officer posts in the UK.
Initial grant of Permit-Free training
- Pre-registration house officer (PRHO): 12 months
- Basic Specialist or General Professional Training (SHO): Up to 3 years
Initial grant will usually be limited to six months or one year, or the duration of the first appointment.
Extension for up to three years may be granted with a maximum aggregate of four years in the SHO grade. (This does not include any time spent as a PRHO).
There will be no extension beyond aggregate four years at SHO grade.
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Higher Specialist Training (Specialist Registrar): Up to 3 years
Extensions for periods of up to 3 years to allow completion of the approved training programme, subject to evidence of satisfactory progress. (HST grant is regardless of time spent in the SHO grade. Even after exhausting 4 years PFT as an SHO you can apply for SpR posts as long as you have the entry requirements, and once appointed you will be eligible for further PFT)
Applying for an extension to Permit-Free Training
Application is actually for an extension of leave to remain in the UK and is to the Home Office using form FLR(O). Read the notes on the form carefully. For permit-free training you will require:
a) GMC registration certificate.
b) A document showing that you intend to undertake postgraduate training in a hospital. This should be a letter of appointment from your employer giving start and finish dates of your post or rotation.
c) Documentary evidence showing satisfactory progress in your postgraduate training. Although the notes on form FLR(O) do not actually say so, this evidence should be provided by form PF/PGD signed by the Postgraduate Dean.
As an SHO you may need to apply for extension of leave to remain in the UK (sometimes incorrectly referred to as visa renewal) several times within the four-year period. Each application will need a new form PF/PGD as evidence of satisfactory progress in training. At the end of 3 years you will have to be sure that your goals are achievable within the next year, and show that you are taking all necessary steps to attain them.
There is no need to apply for further PFT on appointment to the SpR grade if you still have time remaining from the SHO grade. You can wait until 6 weeks before the end of your current grant before re-applying.
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