Glimmer of hope for GP practices struggling with severe doctor shortages

Overseas doctors with offers of employment to commence after 31 March 2021 can now apply for critical purpose visas and make travel plans to take up their employment after Minister of Immigration, Hon Kris Faafoi announced the removal of timeframe restrictions.

This announcement would come as a welcome relief for hundreds of practices across New Zealand struggling to find GP’s to fill healthcare shortages. The Government had earlier mandated that doctors and other registered healthcare professionals will be granted border exemption under the “critical health worker” criteria only if they could commence employment by 31 March 2021, a deadline plagued with global flight restrictions and more recently, our struggling MIQ availabilities.