You can apply for entry clearance for Health and Care worker visa if you are sponsored by NHS, an NHS supplier or a care home to do an eligible skilled job in the UK. Those applying for the Health and Care visa are exempt from having to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and have lower visa application fees. A person applying for Health and Care worker visa entry clearance should meet the requirements as set out in Appendix Skilled Worker, Appendix Skilled Occupations and Appendix Shortage Occupations list of Immigration Rules.
Health and Care Visa applicants will pay the reduced application fees. The visa fee reduction applies to partners and dependants of Health and Care Visa applicants. In addition to the reduced visa fee, applicants applying for the Health and Care Visa, and their family are exempt from having to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. The Home Office UKVI will prioritise Health and Care Visa applications, with the aim that the vast majority are processed within three weeks from the point the applicant has provided their biometric information.
There is dedicated support available, enabling Health and Care Visa sponsors to contact UKVI’s specialist team if they have any issues with the application process or eligibility for the Health and Care Visa. Sponsors can contact UKVI’s dedicated NHS team at the following email address:
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Free Immigration Advice For Health and Care Worker Visa UK
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide one-off free immigration advice online in relation to your application for health and care worker visa UK. Ask a question online to our specialist team of immigration solicitors for free immigration advice online or book an appointment online for a detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our immigration solicitors concerning your application for health and care worker visa UK.
No Dependants For Care Workers Under The New Immigration Laws
In a recent statement made in December 2023 by the Home Secretary James Cleverly, it has been stated that the UK Government will soon publish new statement of changes to the UK Immigration Rules to block dependants of care workers.
Eligibility Requirements For Health and Care Worker Visa
The applicants applying for the Health and Care Visa need to meet the requirements of the Skilled Worker route which is contained in Appendix Skilled Worker of the Immigration Rules. To qualify for a Health and Care Worker visa, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- You must be a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional
- You must work in an eligible health or social care job
- You must score 50 points from mandatory non-tradeable points;
- You must score at least 20 points from tradeable points;
- Your employer must hold the sponsor licence to sponsor you for your job
- Your employer must have a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from your employer with information about the role you’ve been offered in the UK
- You must be paid a minimum salary - how much depends on the type of work you do
- You must be able to provide evidence of knowledge of English language
- You must have sufficient personal savings to support yourself in the UK unless your employer has certified maintenance
- You must be able to demonstrate ability to travel and travel history over the preceding five years
- You must provide a valid tuberculosis test results (if from a listed country)
- You must provide a criminal record certificate from any country where a migrant has lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, if working with vulnerable people
The employer is required to include a brief explanation in the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) setting out how the employee meets the Health and Care Visa eligibility requirement. The employer will also be responsible for informing the applicant they are eligible for the Health and Care Visa so the applicant can correctly complete the visa application form. Where an employer is an organisation that provides services commissioned by the NHS, evidence of the contract arrangements with the NHS may need to be provided to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) as proof that applicants are eligible to apply for a Health and Care Visa.
Eligible Occupation Codes For Health and Care Worker Visa
Your job must be in one of the following occupation codes to qualify for the Health and Care Worker visa:
- 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
- 6145: care workers and home carers
- 6146: senior care workers
Approved UK Health and Care Sector Employers
You must have a job offer from an approved UK employer holding sponsor licence before you apply for a Health and Care Worker visa. Approved employers are also known as sponsors, because they are sponsoring you to come to or stay in the UK.
You must have a job offer from:
- the NHS
- an organisation providing medical services to the NHS
- an organisation providing adult social care
If your employer is not currently approved, they can apply for a sponsor licence if they are eligible. Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can help your employer with an application for sponsor licence.
Mandatory Non-Tradeable Points (50 Points Required)
The applicant must score 50 mandatory non-tradeable points to succeed in the entry clearance application for Health and Care worker visa and the remaining 20 points can be scored from tradeable points. The mandatory non-tradeable points are given in the table below:
| Characterstics | Points |
| Sponsorship | 20 |
| Job at appropriate skill level | 20 |
| English language skills at level B1 (intermediate) | 10 |
Tradeable Points For Health and Care Worker Visa Entry Clearance (20 Points Required)
An applicant must be awarded 20 tradeable points from the table below. An applicant may only be awarded 20 points from one entry in the table.
| Option | Requirements To Score Points | Points |
| A |
The applicant’s salary equals or exceeds all of the following: |
20 |
| B |
Educational qualification: PhD in a subject relevant to the job and the applicant’s salary equals or exceeds all of the following: In this entry, 10 points will be awarded for the educational qualification and 10 points will be awarded for the applicant’s salary. |
20 |
| C |
Educational qualification: PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job and the applicant’s salary equals or exceeds all of the following: |
20 |
| D |
Job in a shortage occupation and the applicant’s salary equals or exceeds all of the following: |
20 |
| E |
Applicant is a new entrant to the labour market and their salary equals or exceeds all of the following: |
20 |
| F |
Job in a listed health or education occupation and the applicant’s salary equals or exceeds both: |
20 |
Salary Requirements
Your employer with sponsor licence need to pay you a salary of at least £20,960 per year unless the ‘going rate’ for your job is higher than this. Each occupation code has its own annual going rate. How you find the going rate depends on your job and occupation code. Salaries are listed by NHS pay band and area of the UK you’ll be working in.
Financial Requirement (Mandatory) For A Skilled Worker
- If the applicant is applying for entry clearance, or has been in the UK for less than 12 months on the date of application, either:
- the applicant must have funds of at least £1,270 held for at least 28 days as required in Appendix Finance; or
- the sponsor must certify that they will, if necessary, maintain and accommodate the applicant up to the end of the first month of their employment, to an amount of at least £1,270.
Criminal Record Certificate Requirement (Mandatory) For Health and Care Worker Visa
If the applicant is applying for entry clearance and is being sponsored for a job in any of the occupation codes listed below, they must provide a criminal record certificate from the relevant authority in any country in which they have been present for 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the 10 years before the date of application, and while aged 18 or over:
- 1181 Health services and public health managers and directors
- 1184 Social services managers and directors
- 1241 Health care practice managers
- 1242 Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors
- 2211 Medical practitioners
- 2212 Psychologists
- 2213 Pharmacists
- 2214 Ophthalmic opticians
- 2215 Dental practitioners
- 2217 Medical radiographers
- 2218 Podiatrists
- 2219 Health professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2221 Physiotherapists
- 2222 Occupational therapists
- 2223 Speech and language therapists
- 2229 Therapy professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2231 Nurses
- 2232 Midwives
- 2312 Further education teaching professionals
- 2314 Secondary education teaching professionals
- 2315 Primary and nursery education teaching professionals
- 2316 Special needs education teaching professionals
- 2317 Senior professionals of educational establishments
- 2318 Education advisers and school inspectors
- 2319 Teaching and other educational professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2442 Social workers
- 2443 Probation officers
- 2449 Welfare professionals not elsewhere classified
- 3213 Paramedics
- 3216 Dispensing opticians
- 3217 Pharmaceutical technicians
- 3218 Medical and dental technicians
- 3219 Health associate professionals not elsewhere classified
- 3231 Youth and community workers
- 3234 Housing officers
- 3235 Counsellors
- 3239 Welfare and housing associate professionals not elsewhere classified
- 3443 Fitness instructors
- 3562 Human resources and industrial relations officers
- 6121 Nursery nurses and assistants
- 6122 Childminders and related occupations
- 6123 Playworkers
- 6125 Teaching assistants
- 6126 Educational support assistants 6141 Nursing auxiliaries and assistants
- 6143 Dental nurses
- 6144 Houseparents and residential wardens
- 6146 Senior care workers
The requirement to provide criminal record certificate does not apply if the applicant provides a satisfactory explanation why it is not reasonably practicable for them to obtain a criminal record certificate from any or all of the relevant authorities.
Period and Conditions of Grant For Health and Care Worker Visa
- The applicant will be granted entry clearance until 14 days after the end date of their certificate of sponsorship (which may be up to a maximum of 5 years after the start date of their certificate of sponsorship).
- The grant will be subject to all the following conditions:
- no access to public funds; and
- work is permitted only in the job the applicant is being sponsored for; and
- supplementary employment is permitted, providing the person continues to work in the job for which they are being sponsored; and
- voluntary work is permitted; and
- working out a contractual notice period is permitted, for a job the applicant was lawfully working in on the date of application; and
- study is permitted, subject to the ATAS condition in Appendix ATAS; and
- if Part 10 applies, the applicant will be required to register with the police.
Priority Service For Health and Care Worker Visa Entry Clearance
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors and lawyers can provide priority service for your entry clearance application so that you can make a faster decision on your application.
Priority Service for decision within 5 working days
If the Priority Service is available from the country you apply, you may be able to get decision on your application within 5 working days through priority service if prove your identity at a visa application centre in your country of residence. You will find out whether this service is available when you submit your UK visa application online.
Super Priority Service for decision by the end of the next working day
If you get the online option of proving your identity by using the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app, you may be able to get a decision within 24 hours (usually by the end of the next working day).
How Can We Help?
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on a fixed fee basis in relation to your entry clearance application. Our fixed fee for your entry clearance application will cover all the work of our immigration solicitors on your entry clearance application until a decision is made by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) on your application. The casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors in relation to your entry clearance application will entail the following:
Advice on requirements: Our immigration solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you have to meet for your entry clearance application to succeed.
Advice on documents: Our immigration lawyers will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to be submitted in support of your entry clearance application;
Assessment of documents: Our immigration lawyers will assess your documents to make sure that all the documents you provide in support of your entry clearance application are in accordance with the requirements of the Immigration Rules.
Completing application form: Our immigration lawyers will complete the relevant application form online for your entry clearance application.
Submitting an application through Priority Service: Where possible, our immigration lawyers will submit your online entry clearance application through Priority Service to get a faster decision on your entry clearance application.
Booking an appointment with the application centre: After you submit your entry clearance application online, our immigration lawyers will book your appointment with the application centre for you to enrol your biometrics.
Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist immigration solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of the entry clearance application to explain all the relevant legal requirements have been satisfied for the approval of the entry clearance application;
Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our immigration lawyers will upload all the supporting documents to be considered for the entry clearance application online.
Follow-up work: Our immigration lawyers will carry out all the follow-up work until a decision by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) on the entry clearance application.
Our Fixed Fees For Health and Care Worker Visa Applications
Our fixed fees for employer-sponsored work visas are as given in the fee table below:
| Our Service | Our Fixed Fees Range |
| Full service for Entry Clearance for employer-sponsored work visas to cover all the work until a decision by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) | From £700 To £1,200 (no VAT) |
| Full service for switching into employer sponsored work visa from inside the UK through Priority or Super Priority Service to cover our work until a decision on your application | From £700 To £1,200 (no VAT) |
| Full service for extension of employer-sponsored work visa from inside the UK through Priority or Super Priority Service to cover our work until a decision on your application | From £700 To £1,200 (no VAT) |
| Full service for ILR as an employer-sponsored worker from inside the UK through Priority or Super Priority Service to cover our work until a decision on your ILR application | From £700 To £1,200 (no VAT) |
The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the application and the volume of casework involved. In addition to our fixed fee, the applicant also has to pay the Home Office UKVI fees for the application.