UK Health And Care Worker Visa

What the Health and Care Worker visa is and who it's for

The Health and Care Worker visa is a type of Skilled Worker visa for people coming to do an eligible medical or adult social care job in the UK. It usually has lower application costs than a standard work visa and exempts you from the Immigration Health Surcharge (the NHS fee most visa applicants pay).

It's aimed at qualified professionals with a confirmed job offer from an approved UK employer. You can normally bring your partner and children, and the visa can lead to settling permanently in the UK.

• Qualified doctors, nurses and other health professionals
• Adult social care workers and senior care workers
• People with a genuine job offer from the NHS, an NHS supplier or an adult social care provider
• Applicants whose role is on the eligible occupation list set by the Home Office

The main requirements

To qualify you'll need to meet several conditions. Your employer must hold a sponsor licence and issue you a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) — a digital reference confirming your job — before you apply. The exact salary and job rules change, so always check GOV.UK before relying on them.

• A job offer from a licensed sponsor and a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)
• A role on the eligible occupation list for health and care workers
• A salary that meets the minimum and the going rate for your job — check GOV.UK for the current figure
• Proof you can read, write, speak and understand English to the required standard

Dependants, the NHS surcharge and the route to settlement

You can usually bring your partner and children under 18, and they can live, study and in most cases work in the UK with you. Each dependant makes their own linked application.

A big advantage of this visa is that you and your dependants are exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge, so you can use the NHS from your start date without paying that fee. The visa can be granted for up to five years and renewed while you still qualify. After five years of continuous residence, you may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) — the right to live in the UK permanently.

How ILUK helps applicants and sponsors

Immigration Lawyers UK is a network of SRA-regulated immigration solicitors working on a fixed-fee basis across London, Manchester, Birmingham and the rest of the UK. We support both the worker applying and the employer doing the sponsoring.

For applicants, we check you meet the salary, English and occupation rules, prepare your application and your dependants', and head off the small mistakes that cause refusals. For employers, we help with the sponsor licence, assigning Certificates of Sponsorship correctly, and meeting sponsor duties.

What to do next

Every case is different, and the rules change regularly. The best first step is a straightforward conversation about your role, your job offer and your family.

Request a free, no-obligation call-back. A regulated solicitor will talk through your eligibility and explain your options and our fixed fees, with no pressure to proceed.