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Skip to content The Health and Care Worker Visa is for qualified doctors, nurses, allied health workers, and people who work in adult social care and want to work in the UK in a health or social care job that fulfils the requirements. This visa is a part of the Skilled Worker Visa.
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The Health and Care visa is for skilled workers from other countries who want to come to the UK and work in certain jobs for licensed employers. Doctors, qualified nurses, chemists, and adult social care workers are among the health care professionals who can get the visa.
This visa can partially fill the skills gap in the UK healthcare industry. It provides a pathway for foreign nationals to work in the UK and possibly obtain permanent residency.
Successful people can work in the UK for up to five years, and they can ask to extend their visa as many times as they want, as long as they are still eligible.
After five years, people with a Health and Care visa can also apply for UK indefinite leave to stay. With ILR status, you are no longer controlled by UK immigration and are not limited by rules about visa sponsorship. This means that you can change jobs and companies without having to apply for new visas.
When compared to the Skilled Worker visa, the Healthcare visa UK offers several benefits, such as expedited processing, reduced application fees, and protection from the Immigration Health Surcharge. However, the Health and Care Worker Visa is only for medical professionals and people working in certain health and care roles. The Skilled Worker visa is open to people in certain jobs across many industries.
You won’t be able to get the new Health and Care visa if you aren’t working for a designated organisation in one of the prescribed occupations. However, people who don’t meet the visa requirements can still apply for the Skilled Worker visa, as long as they meet the visa requirements.
Call us at 02033844389 to talk about healthcare visas UK.
The health and care visa UK eligibility criteria set by UK Visas & Immigration:
Depending on your circumstances, you may need to satisfy different requirements.
To qualify for the Health and Care Worker visa, the following Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes must be met (in ascending SOC code order):
Code | Job Title |
1181 | health services and public health managers and directors |
1242 | residential, day, and domiciliary care managers and proprietors |
2112 | biological scientists and biochemists |
2113 | physical scientists |
2211 | medical practitioners |
2212 | psychologists |
2213 | pharmacists |
2214 | ophthalmic opticians |
2215 | dental practitioners |
2217 | medical radiographers |
2218 | podiatrists |
2219 | health professionals that are ‘not elsewhere classified’, such as audiologists and occupational health advisers |
2221 | physiotherapists |
2222 | occupational therapists |
2223 | speech and language therapists |
2229 | therapy professionals that are ‘not elsewhere classified’, such as osteopaths and psychotherapists |
2231 | nurses |
2232 | midwives |
2442 | social workers |
3111 | laboratory technicians |
3213 | paramedics |
3216 | dispensing opticians |
3217 | pharmaceutical technicians |
3218 | medical and dental technicians |
3219 | health associate professionals not elsewhere classified |
6141 | nursing auxiliaries and assistants |
6143 | dental nurses |
6146 | senior care workers |
This list is exhaustive and roles within the same sector but belonging to different codes would not qualify for the Health and Care Visa. However, some of these roles may qualify under the general category of Skilled Workers.
In addition to having a job in an eligible SOC category, applicants must also have been offered a job with a company that has a valid sponsor licence. This could be an NHS body or trust, a medical services provider to the NHS, an organisation that provides adult social care, or one of several other medical and social care organisations listed in the official guidance. For example, this could include someone who works for or is registered with one of the following business groups:
If your UK sponsor is a private company that offers NHS-commissioned healthcare services, you will need to show proof of your eligibility for a Health and Care Worker visa in the form of an explanation and possibly written proof of the contractual arrangements with the NHS.
When new rules go into effect on March 11, 2025, they will also require care providers in England who want to support migrant workers to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. This rule doesn’t apply to care workers who were already on the route before this date; they can continue their permission with the same sponsor and settle without having to follow the CQC regulation rule.
You must fulfil the salary requirement in order to be eligible. This means that you must be paid at least the minimum pay threshold or the appropriate ‘going rate’ for the work you have been offered, whichever is greater. The Home Office sets the going rate for every eligible job.
When you apply for a Health and Care Worker visa UK on or after April 4, 2025, you must earn at least £23,200 (up from £20,960) a year, or the national pay scale for the job, whichever is higher. People who want to apply for jobs that aren’t on a national pay scale will need to make at least £29,000 a year.
These new limits apply when searching for a first Health and Care Worker visa or when renewing permission.
If your salary is less than the minimum amount needed, you may still be able to apply for a Health and Care visa. As long as you meet the lower level and the specific requirements for each option, which are laid out in Table 1 of the Home Office guidance, the rules say that you can be paid between 70% and 90% of the going rate for your job. As an example:
| Option | Minimum salary starting 4 April 2025 | Available Points |
| F | The applicant’s income is the same as or more than:
| 20 |
| G | Their pay is the same as or more than both of the following: they have a PhD in a field related to the job;
| 20 |
| H | The applicant possesses a PhD in a STEM field relevant to the job, and their salary exceeds or equals both:
| 20 |
| I | The applicant has a job on the Immigration Salary List that is being paid more than or similar to that of the following:
| 20 |
| J | The applicant is new to the job market and just starting, and their income is the same as or more than:
| 20 |
| K | The person applying is being sponsored to work in a listed health or education job, and their income is the same as or higher than:
| 20 |
Some applicants will also have to show proof that they can pay their own expenses. If you are applying from outside of the UK, you must show that you have had £1,270 in your bank account for at least 28 days in a row. The 28th day must be less than 31 days after the day you applied for your visa.
You won’t have to show this proof of money if you apply from inside the UK and have had a valid visa for at least 12 months. If your sponsor is A-rated, they can also send a letter of support saying they can pay for your costs for the first month you are in the country.
Unless you are excluded, like if you are from a country where English is the main language, you will have to show that you can speak and understand English. Most of the time, you will need to show that you passed an official English test with at least CEFR level B1 in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, or that you have an academic degree that was taught in English and is recognised by Ecctis as being the same as a UK bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD degree.
If you want to become a doctor, dentist, nurse, or midwife, the evaluation of your professional body will show that you can speak and write clearly.
In the case of obtaining entry clearance for certain jobs (generally jobs in the health, care, welfare, and education sectors), unless it is not feasible to do so, you will be required to provide a criminal record certificate for any country in which, since the age of 18, you have resided for a period of 12 months or more (continuously or cumulatively) in the ten years prior to your application date.
You must provide a criminal record certificate if you are applying from outside the UK unless your job is one of the following occupation codes: biological scientists and biochemists (2112) or physical scientists (2113).
You’ll need to provide a criminal record certificate if you’re applying from outside the UK and you work in:
The first thing you need to do to get the Health and Care visa is to obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from your UK sponsor. Your application can be made online at the Home Office website using this unique reference number.
After you have filled out all the necessary information, the next step in the application process is to pay the fee. You will also have to send in a number of papers to support your application.
When the Home Office gets your application, they will look over the information and documents. They may offer to either set up a biometrics appointment (since biometrics sent with a previous application can’t be used again) or tell you how to enrol biometrics using an ID app.
As with any UK visa application, you will need to provide a number of papers and pieces of information to back up your case. These may include, but are not limited to, the following:
Description of Documents | Details |
Passport or travel documents that are up-to-date and valid | To show that you can travel |
Any passports or travel papers that have expired | To prove your travel history |
Certificate of Sponsorship from your company (with a reference number) | Needed for the visa application |
Name of the employer and the sponsor licence reference number | To verify job information |
Proof that you have enough savings: a statement or letter from your bank or building society | Needed unless your COS shows that your A-rated sponsor can help you. |
Evidence of your English Knowledge | To fulfil the language requirement. |
Tuberculosis test results (if you are from one of the countries on the list) | Health requirement |
Evidence of a criminal history (unless your position is exempt) | To be sure there is no criminal background |
Proof of relationship for dependents (e.g., marriage certificate for spouse and birth certificates for children) | For dependant applications |
When compared to the main Skilled Worker method, the Health and Care visa has lower application fees and faster processing. This is one of its best features.
People who want to apply for this visa and their dependents must pay the same fees. The fees are the same for people who want to come or stay in the UK.
Health and Care Visa – Skilled Worker – where a sponsorship certificate is fewer than three years – main applicant and dependants | £284 |
Skilled Worker – Health and Care Visa – where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for over three years – main applicant and dependants | £551 |
Skilled Worker – Shortage Occupation – Health and Care Visa – where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for three years or less – main applicant and dependants | £284 |
Skilled Worker – Shortage Occupation – Health and Care Visa – where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for over three years – main applicant and dependants | £551 |
Skilled Worker – Health and Care Worker Visa – where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for three years or less – main applicant and dependants | £284 |
Skilled Worker – Health and Care Visa – where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for over three years -main applicant and dependants | £551 |
Skilled Worker – Shortage Occupation – Health and Care Visa – where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for over three years – main applicant and dependants | £551 |
Skilled Worker – Shortage Occupation – Health and Care Visa – where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for three years or less – main applicant and dependants | £284 |
This visa allows applicants and their dependents to apply without paying the Immigration Health Surcharge.
As a general rule, applications for health and care worker visas are expedited. Consequently, when healthcare professionals choose this approach to apply, they often hear back about their application within three weeks of providing their biometric data. The present processing period for a Skilled Worker visa is far longer than this.
If visa applicants or sponsors encounter any problems with the application procedure or Health and Care visa eligibility, they can contact UKVI’s team, which is available via a specialised NHS support and visa processing department.
You might be able to apply to change (‘switch’) to a Health and Care Worker visa UK if you’re already in the UK on a different type of visa.
Your partner or children will need to apply separately to switch their visa.
They can either apply at the same time as you, or at any time before their current visa expires.
You must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Your application will be withdrawn if you do.
You cannot apply to switch to this visa if you’re currently in the UK:
An employer seeking to employ foreign workers must pay a charge known as the Immigration Skills Charge.
When applying for a Tourism, Leisure, or Family Visit Visa to the UK, the assessment of your intentions is a critical part of the application process. The UK visa authorities will evaluate several factors to ensure that you plan to visit the UK for tourism, leisure, or family purposes only and not for prohibited activities like long-term residence or employment.
Any required Immigration Skills Charge must also be paid in full by your sponsor.
Employers must pay the Immigration Skills Charge each time they assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to a migrant.
Chemical scientists (2111) and biological scientists and biochemists (2112) are exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge requirement.
It is important to note that the Immigration Skills Charge must be paid in full by the employer who is sponsoring you.
It is common for sponsors to ask if they can deduct the Immigration Skills Charge from the worker’s salary or whether they can request it at the outset.
Sponsors must pay the ISC to the worker and cannot pass it on to the worker in any fashion.
An employer is likely to lose their sponsor license if they pass the Immigration Skills Charge on to a worker to pay in any fashion whatsoever.
For further details call 02033844389.
The Tier 2 cooling off period previously barred Tier 2 visa holders from returning to the UK for a period of 12 months after their visa expired or moving back to a Tier 2 visa from another UK leave category within 12 months (unless they earned more than £159,600).
It applied to people who were either abroad and had their last grant of Tier 2 leave expire or finish; or who were in the UK and had an earlier period of Tier 2 leave, but then transferred to a different immigration category and then tried to apply under Tier 2 again.
The Tier 2 cooling off period has been eliminated, allowing Tier 2 (General) and Health and Care Worker visa holders to apply for a UK visa without having to wait. Existing Tier 2 General visa holders will no longer be subject to these restrictions as a result of this adjustment.
The Tier 2 cooling off period had been troublesome for both sponsors and workers, and the revised rules provide Health and Care Workers with more flexibility in returning to the UK while also improving companies’ foreign recruitment possibilities.
There is no longer a 12-month ‘cooling off period’ for Health and Care Worker Visa holders.
Moreover, there is no restriction on the timing of applications for Health and Care Worker Visa holders.
Visas for Health and Care Workers can be granted for a maximum of five years.
If the visa holder wants to extend the visa at this point, they can do so; if they have completed the five-year residency requirement, they may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Providing you follow the visa requirements, there is no limit to how many times you can extend the Health and Care Worker Visa UK.
Formerly, applicants to the Tier 2 (General) route had to spend up to six years in the route to be eligible for entry clearance or to switch to the route.
A six-year maximum stay has been removed from the Health and Care Worker Visa route. There is no duration limit.
It is necessary to apply for a new period of leave if the visa holder changes sponsors or jobs.
This means that if you continue working for your sponsor (and meet compliance requirements) for a continuous period of 5 years, you are eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain which will then afford you a status equivalent to permanent residency.
At this point, you become free from immigration control and enter and leave the UK at your leisure without any visa requirements.
You also enjoy all of the same rights as a settled person in the UK
Health and Care Worker visa holders are allowed to work in the position they have been sponsored for. Additionally, they can work part-time in the same occupation code or less than 20 paid hours per week if they continue to work at the job for which they are sponsored.
Most benefits and state pensions are not available. Changing jobs and employers is not possible unless your visa is updated.
If you want to change jobs and your new employer is a different one; or if you are not in a graduate training programme; or if you leave a job on the shortage occupation list to take one that is not on the list, you need to apply for an update of your Health and Care Worker visa.
Additionally, if you are going to work more than 20 hours a week or if you are switching occupation codes, you will need to update your visa. Your second employer must issue you a new certificate of sponsorship, along with a letter explaining why you want to change your current stay authorisation.
There are important UKVI compliance considerations as well as Employer policy / contractual obligations and conflicts of interest which must be examined in detail, and it is therefore not recommended to take on additional work unless there are compelling reasons to do so.
Our expert team can discuss any concerns or requirements at length with you to ensure the most appropriate action is taken and your immigration status is safeguarded at all times.
Settlement means that you are considered to be permanently in the UK and do not require any further visas. Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK.
It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like and apply for benefits if you’re eligible.
You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
The following conditions must be met in order to qualify for settlement as a Skilled Worker:
For the foreseeable future, you will be paid at least the general salary threshold or the going rate requirement, whichever is higher.
Immigration Health Charges are not applicable to Health and Care Worker visa applicants and their dependents.
It is possible for Health and Care Workers to have a dependent partner over 18 years of age and/or a dependent child under 18 years of age.
If you are a Health and Care Worker in the UK, your immediate family can also come to the UK with you as your dependents.
They will be free to work, study, or travel freely whilst subject to a dependent visa.
Dependant Visas are issued to the family members of migrants who qualify for the visa.
A dependent is defined by the Immigration Rules as:
For the purposes of the Dependant Visa, it is highly unlikely that any other family members would be eligible for dependant status.
A spouse or partner may obtain a dependent visa if the person they are dependent on is either:
Same-sex or unmarried partners must also be able to show they have been in a subsisting genuine relationship akin to marriage for the past two years.
Dependant visas are available for children if:
Dependant visas can only be applied for by the children of a sole parent if:
Having sufficient finances to support a family without recourse to public funds is a requirement of the Dependant Visa.
As an example, if the visa applicant is the main applicant, he/she is required to submit evidence of having £285 in savings for their dependent partner, along with an additional £315 in savings for their first dependent child and £200 for each additional dependent child.
In addition to the fee reduction for Health and Care Workers, the exemption from Immigration Health Charges also applies to partners and children of Health and Care Visa applicants.
You can get a Health and Care visa for up to five years. If you want to legally stay in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa extension before it runs out.
You can ask for an extension as long as you still meet the requirements for the visa. If you are still working for the same company that gave you your current Certificate of Sponsorship, in the same job with the same occupation code as when you applied for your last visa, and making the same amount of money, then you meet the requirements.
But after 5 years in the UK, you might want to apply to settle instead of extending your position under Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Families in the UK with dependant visas will also need to apply for an extension and show they are still qualified as dependants, or they can apply for ILR before their visa expires.
Our expert legal team is highly experienced in assisting with the below services (where the option has been made available by UKVI)
New Applications – We can help you assess the merits, challenges, and solutions to any issues arising whilst making a new application for Health and Care Worker Visas
Dependents – We can help you make a successful application for your partner or children to join you as your dependents on your Health and Care Worker Visa.
Legal Representations – Where applicable, if you find yourself in an unusual or challenging situation and want the Home Office to take notice of your special circumstances to ensure that you are treated fairly and your rights are respected, our expert team can make both oral and written persuasive legal representations.
Challenge a Refusal – If your application has been refused, we can consider your refusal for free and advise on the best course of action.
Administrative Review – Home Office or Immigration Rules can be challenged if the decision-maker fails to follow them correctly.
Judicial Review – If your application was denied illegally, unreasonably, or procedurally improperly, our immigration lawyers can apply for Judicial Review and represent you at the Judicial Review hearing.
Appeal an Unfair Decision – The decision to refuse your application may provide you with a right of appeal to the First Tier Tribunal. Our expert lawyers can advise you on and handle Appeals before the Immigration & Asylum Chamber (First Tier & Upper Tribunal)
