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Boris Johnson was slammed for slapping a “nurse tax” on medics who come from the EU after Brexit.

The PM said his future ‘points based’ immigration system will retain the £400 a year charge on foreign citizens who use the NHS, even if they work for it.

Those who work for the NHS will be able to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge of their salary - leading to what the Lib Dem’s called a nurse tax.

And the Royal College of Nursing said the “cruel and heartless charge should be abolished”.

It means that an EU nurse who comes to the UK as part of a family of four will have to shell out almost £10,000 over five years.

The NHS currently has 10,000 doctors and 20,000 nurses from the EU, while 5,000 EU nurses left in the last 2 years.

(Image: PA Archive)

The new payment option was announced alongside an “NHS visa” making it easier for doctors and nurses from around the world to work in the UK.

Applicants coming to work in the NHS would receive preferential treatment with extra points under the points-based system, and no cap on numbers entering through the NHS route.

In a desperate attempt to plug the staffing gap left by departing EU workers, the Tories are also promising to halve the cost of a visa for health professionals from £928 to £464.

They will also speed up the process guaranteeing a decision within two weeks.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary Christine Jardine said: “The Conservatives have effectively created a new Nurse Tax.

“It is an insult to the thousands of people who dedicate their lives service coming to work in our health service from the EU.

“The NHS relies on 10,000 doctors and 20,000 nurses from elsewhere in the EU, and we’ve already lost more than 5,000 EU nurses in the last 2 years.

“Brexit is making the NHS nursing crisis worse, and only the cure the Tories can offer is a new nurses tax.”

Dame Donna Kinnair, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “It is of deep regret that the Prime Minister is preserving the immoral and heartless charge for overseas nurses to use the same services they keep running. It should be abolished, not spread out every month.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

“There are tens of thousands of unfilled nursing jobs and we need more ambitious plans than this to address it.”

The Tories said they want to launch the scheme before the points-based system comes in in 2021.

They have already announced a fast-track visa route to attract specialists in science, engineering and technology.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he wanted to attract “the very best talent in the world” to come to work in the NHS.

“From its inception, the NHS has recruited globally,” he said.

“This new visa will make it easier for us to hire the finest doctors and nurses from other nations to come and work in the NHS - so that patients can receive the best possible care.”

In a desperate attempt to plug the staffing gap left by departing EU workers, the Tories are also promising to halve the cost of a visa for health professionals from £928 to £464.

They will also speed up the process guaranteeing a decision within two weeks.

Under the planned points-based immigration system after Britain leaves the EU.

Applicants coming to work in the NHS would receive preferential treatment with extra points under the points-based system, and no cap on numbers entering through the NHS route.

(Image: Philip Coburn)

Liberal Democrat Home Secretary spokeswoman Christine Jardine said:“The Conservatives have effectively created a new Nurse Tax. It is an insult to the thousands of people who dedicate their lives coming to work for our health service from the EU.

“The NHS currently relies on 10,000 doctors and 20,000 nurses from elsewhere in the EU, and we’ve already lost more than 5,000 EU nurses in the last 2 years.

“Brexit is making the nursing crisis worse, and the only cure the Tories can offer is a new Nurse Tax.

“The Liberal Democrats have the solution to the nursing crisis, Stop Brexit so that we can build a brighter future for our precious NHS."

Dame Donna Kinnair, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Failure to train enough nurses is leaving NHS and social care short-staffed and forced us to recruit overseas in the short-term.

"A fairer immigration system is a key demand we’re making of politicians this election - valuing skills and not fixating on arbitrary targets – but the devil will be in the detail and we cannot be satisfied by rhetoric alone.

"The NHS doesn’t operate in isolation and nurses work in social care and many other places.

“But it is of deep regret that the Prime Minister is preserving the immoral and heartless charge for overseas nurses to use the same services they keep running. It should be abolished, not spread out every month.

“There are tens of thousands of unfilled nursing jobs and we need more ambitious plans than this to address it.”

The Tories said they want to launch the scheme before the points-based system comes in in 2021.

They have already announced a fast-track visa route to attract specialists in science, engineering and technology.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he wanted to attract "the very best talent in the world" to come to work in the NHS.

"From its inception, the NHS has recruited globally," he said.