Canadian considering UK

[EveryEffort]

Hey, I'm a Canadian applicant considering med school in the UK. I understand that it is now possible for international students lacking EU citizenship to complete their post-graduate training in the UK after UK med school, but is there a path to permanent residency (aside from marriage) for international UK med graduates? While it would be great to return to North America, I don't want to rely on that possibility and will therefore only consider the UK if staying there permanently is an option for me. Any insight would be much appreciated.

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[Medstart108]

Hey, I'm a Canadian applicant considering med school in the UK. I understand that it is now possible for international students lacking EU citizenship to complete their post-graduate training in the UK after UK med school, but is there a path to permanent residency (aside from marriage) for international UK med graduates? While it would be great to return to North America, I don't want to rely on that possibility and will therefore only consider the UK if staying there permanently is an option for me. Any insight would be much appreciated.

There is a path to permanent residency along with the Tier 2 Visa which you will be on after you begin your speciality training. UK citizenship isn't the easiest to get but they are most definitely not going to train a doctor to consultant level and then kick them out of the country.

I've looked it up for your https://www.gov.uk/settle-in-the-uk/y/you-have-a-work-visa/tier-2-general

Basically once you are on the tier 2 visa for 5 years you can apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK which is equivalent to permanent residency. And then after another year you can apply for UK citizenship. https://www.gov.uk/becoming-a-british-citizen

1. During medical school you are on a tier 4 visa
2. Once you hit foundation years they will renew your tier 4 visa.
3. Once you apply for speciality training and get in, you get switched onto a tier 2 general visa and that is when the 5 year timer starts.
4. After 5 years you can apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residency)
5. After another year you can apply for citizenship.

At no point in time will you be discriminated against when applying for foundation year or speciality training. (This only applies to non-EU citizens who graduate from a UK medical school or EU citizens who graduate from a EU medical school or EU citizens who graduate from a UK medical school)