IMMIGRATION rules which could force foreign nurses to leave the country will only affect two current nurses at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

Research by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) claims changes to immigration rules — set to be enforced in 2017 — could cause chaos for the NHS.

Under the new rules, people from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) must be earning £35,000 or more before they are allowed to stay in the UK after six years.

The RCN claims 3,365 nurses working in the UK are potentially affected by these changes — meaning the £20.19 million cost to the NHS to recruit them would be wasted if they left the country.

But bosses at the Royal Bolton said the rule change will only affects two nurses — and said they were working with the staff members to "minimise the impact of the changes".

Heather Edwards, head of communications at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “As part of the previous and current government’s commitment to controlling net migration into the UK from non-EEA workers, rules were introduced in 2012 which require those workers to earn at least £35,000 per annum within a six year period before they are allowed to apply for settlement in the UK.

“The trust currently only employs two members of our nursing workforce who are affected by those rule changes, and we will be working with those individuals to minimise the impact of the changes.”

In December 2013, The Bolton News revealed that the hospital was looking abroad to find new recruits after struggling to fill vacancies.

An international nurse recruitment programme Bolton NHS Foundation Trust undertook in 2014 hired Spanish and Portuguese nurses.

Previously the trust has turned to Filipino nurses to fill staffing shortfalls, with 24 arriving in Bolton in 2002.

Ms Edwards added: “The changes only affect job roles not classified by the government as a shortage occupation.

“Currently NHS nursing posts are not classified as being a shortage occupation, however the government may decide to review this based on current national nursing staffing levels.”

Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said: "The immigration rules for health care workers will cause chaos for the NHS and other care services.

"At a time when demand is increasing, the UK is making it harder to employ staff from overseas. The NHS has spent millions hiring nurses from overseas in order to provide safe staffing levels. These rules will mean that money has just been thrown down the drain."