Closed petition Fair visa requirements for medical elective students

Closed on 27 February 2014

Medical students from low-income countries are currently prevented from completing elective placements in the UK by excessive visa requirements. The Home Office should consider medical elective students as student visitors, and make them exempt from the Tier 4 visa requirement.

Medical electives, 8-10 week specialist hospital placements, are an essential part of a doctor’s training. For students from low-income countries, UK elective placements offer access to diagnostic and treatment facilities and specialties such as cardiology or neurosurgery which may be limited at home. These clinical experiences will help these future doctors deliver effective healthcare in their own countries.

Since 2012, medical elective students require a Tier 4 visa, which is expensive, complex and entirely disproportionate for an 8 week student visit. We ask the home office to consider medical elective students as a special case, and allow them to enter the country with a student visitor visa.