Health and Care Worker Visa

The Health and Care Worker visa is a specialist branch of the UK Skilled Worker route, designed for qualified medical professionals and adult social care staff coming to work for the NHS, an NHS supplier, or an adult social care provider. It carries significant advantages over the standard Skilled Worker visa: reduced application fees and, crucially, exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge - a saving of over £5,000 across a five-year visa.

The route covers doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, and adult social care workers. It uses the same 70-point system as the Skilled Worker visa but applies a lower general salary threshold of £29,000 for health and care roles, with going rates set by national pay scales such as NHS Agenda for Change bands.

In 2026, the route remains central to NHS and social care workforce planning. However, the sector has tightened: care workers face stricter rules following reforms to overseas recruitment, and the White Paper signalled a future closure of overseas care worker recruitment for new applicants. Health professionals such as nurses and doctors continue to be actively recruited.

You need a confirmed job offer from a UK employer with a Health and Care Worker sponsor licence, in an eligible health or social care occupation. The role must meet the relevant salary threshold - generally £29,000 or the occupational going rate, with NHS roles benchmarked to Agenda for Change pay bands.

You must demonstrate English language ability at CEFR level B1 across all four skills, typically through an approved test or a recognised qualification. You need a Certificate of Sponsorship from your employer and, unless your sponsor certifies maintenance, at least £1,270 in savings. Professionals such as nurses and doctors must hold or be working towards the relevant UK professional registration - for example with the Nursing and Midwifery Council or General Medical Council.

Step 1: Secure a job offer from an approved health or social care sponsor and obtain your Certificate of Sponsorship reference number.

Step 2: For regulated professions, begin or complete UK registration - for nurses this means the NMC process including the CBT and OSCE; for doctors, GMC registration.

Step 3: Pass an approved English language test at B1 level if you cannot rely on a qualifying exemption.

Step 4: Apply online on GOV.UK, selecting the Health and Care Worker visa. Enter your CoS number and confirm your eligible occupation code.

Step 5: Pay the reduced application fee - you will not be charged the Immigration Health Surcharge for this route.

Step 6: Verify your identity via the ID Check app or a visa application centre, and upload documents including your CoS, English test, savings evidence and tuberculosis test certificate where required.

Step 7: Await the decision, which is prioritised for this route, then access your eVisa and travel.

Application fees are discounted: roughly £304 for visas up to three years and £590 for longer visas, applied per applicant. The standout saving is the Immigration Health Surcharge exemption - health and care workers and their dependants pay nothing, versus £1,035 per year on other routes. Your sponsor pays the Immigration Skills Charge, though some smaller care providers and certain roles are exempt or reduced. Additional costs include professional registration fees (NMC or GMC), English testing, tuberculosis screening, and any OSCE examination fees for nurses. Overall, this is one of the cheapest UK work routes for applicants.

Health and Care Worker visa applications are prioritised and usually decided within three weeks for applications made from outside the UK. In-country switches and extensions typically take up to eight weeks. The route benefits from a dedicated processing stream reflecting NHS workforce needs. Delays most often stem from incomplete professional registration evidence or pending English test results, so completing those steps before applying keeps the timeline short.

You may work for your sponsoring employer in the role on your Certificate of Sponsorship, take supplementary employment of up to 20 hours a week in an eligible occupation, and do voluntary work. You can bring dependent partners and children, who can work and study.

The Health and Care Worker visa counts towards Indefinite Leave to Remain. Under current rules, settlement is possible after five continuous years, but the 2026 White Paper proposed extending the general qualifying period to ten years, with possible faster routes for those making a strong contribution. After ILR you can apply for British citizenship, usually 12 months later. Care workers should monitor policy closely, as overseas recruitment for new care roles faces restriction; established health professionals such as nurses and doctors have a more stable pathway.