At the end of 2025, the British National Health Service (NHS) faces a structural dependence on foreign professionals that already doubles that of other Western countries. According to the most recent data from NHS Digital and the General Medical Council (GMC), published in November 2025, the United Kingdom has one of the highest proportions of foreign-trained doctors in the world: 42% of licensed clinicians (around 138,405 professionals) obtained their degree outside the country, while 36.3% report a non-British nationality.
On this map, Portugal is one of the main sources of qualified talent, with around 1403 doctors active in that country. The country ranks fourth among EU nationalities with clinicians working in the British Isles, only surpassed by Ireland, Greece and Italy.
Portuguese prestige in highly complex areas
The “Portuguese school” of medicine continues to be one of the most valued assets within British hospital units. Unlike other nationalities that focus mainly on general medicine, Portuguese doctors have an above-average penetration in highly complex specialties.
Data from the GMC (November 2025) and specialty reports from the Royal College of Anaesthetists indicate that clinicians trained in Portugal are preferentially selected for the areas of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Surgery. This appreciation is due to the intensive nature of internships in Portugal, which prepares doctors for high clinical autonomy.
“Portuguese specialists enter the British system with a technical maturity that the NHS is unlikely to be able to train in a timely manner”, states one of the reports from the British Medical Association (BMA).
The cost of talent: rates to rise in 2025
One of the factors that has helped shape the profile of clinical staff in 2025 is the new financial requirements imposed by the British Labor government’s Home Office.
The increase in rates, applied in April 2025, represented a direct increase in entry costs: the Health and Care Visa (up to 3 years) had a fee of 284 pounds (approx. €326), which passed for current £304 (approx. €349). Already a vthis from Health and Care (more than 3 years), had a cost of £551 (approx. €632)but was set at £590 (approx. €676).
Worse was the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), that skyrocketed: the government imposed an increase in 120%. If by April 2025 hospitals paid £239 (approx. €274) for each doctor hired, the current value is in the £525 (about €602).
For Portuguese and other European doctors, who before Brexit benefited from free movement, all these costs — added to the bureaucratic sponsorship processes — act as a psychological and financial barrier. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges even writes, in its report from December this year, that this “onerous environment” is mainly responsible for the stagnation of recruitment in the EU — which, according to statistical data from November, is set at 5.2%.
Despite European strength in medicine, the real basis of the NHS system is now secured by Asia and Africa. India leads external recruitment in the UK (8% of total doctors), followed by Pakistan (3.7%) and Egypt (2.9%). However, new data from 2025 reveals that 9% of UK doctors come from countries on the World Health Organization (WHO) “red list” — in other words, they are countries with critical shortages of clinical personnel, and this international organization prohibits active recruitment by wealthier nations from these nations to protect vulnerable health systems.
This puts the British government under international pressure, due to the ethical implications of removing healthcare professionals from countries with severe shortages.