Health and Care visa basics

What the visa is

The Health and Care Worker visa lets doctors, nurses, other health professionals and adult social care workers come to or stay in the UK. It is for an eligible job with the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or an organisation providing adult social care.

It is a type of Skilled Worker visa. People apply on the Skilled Worker form, which asks if the application is for a Health and Care Worker visa.

Who it is for

Every job has a 4-digit occupation code. GOV.UK lists the codes that can be used for this visa. They include doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, pharmacists, physiotherapists, social workers, and nursing auxiliaries and assistants (code 6131).

The 2025 change for care workers

Since 22 July 2025, people outside the UK cannot apply for this visa as a care worker (code 6135) or senior care worker (code 6136).

Some applications from inside the UK are still possible:

• People who already have permission as a care worker or senior care worker can extend or update their visa.
• People switching from another visa can use these codes if they have worked legally for their sponsor in that job for at least 3 months. The Immigration Rules allow these switching applications until 22 July 2028.
• In England, an employer sponsoring care workers or senior care workers has to be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

A few other 'medium skilled' health jobs, such as dental nurses and ambulance staff, can only be used to extend or update. This applies if the certificate of sponsorship was issued before 22 July 2025 and the person has held a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa ever since.

Sponsors and the certificate of sponsorship

A sponsor is an employer the Home Office has approved to employ workers from overseas. It holds a sponsor licence.

The sponsor gives the worker a certificate of sponsorship (CoS). This is an electronic record with a reference number, not a paper document. It holds details of the job and pay. The visa application has to be made within 3 months of getting the CoS.

The sponsor pays the CoS fee, which is £525 at the time of writing (October 2026). GOV.UK says a sponsor's licence may be revoked if it asks the worker to pay this fee.

Pay

The rules set a minimum salary, which depends on the job:

• For most health jobs paid on national pay scales, the usual minimum is £25,000 a year or the national pay scale rate for the job, whichever is higher.
• For care workers, senior care workers and a few other listed jobs, the usual minimum is £31,300 a year or the job's 'lower going rate', whichever is higher. A lower minimum of £25,000 applies to jobs on the immigration salary list. At the time of writing (October 2026), care worker and senior care worker jobs are on that list.

The employer also has to pay at least the minimum wage and follow UK rules on working hours.

English

Applicants usually prove their English with a UK school qualification, a degree taught in English, or an approved English test. New applicants need level B2 (upper intermediate). People who had this visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending or updating it need level B1, and do not have to prove it again.

Nationals of some countries, such as Australia, Canada, Jamaica and the USA, do not need to prove their English. Nor do doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives who passed an English assessment accepted by their professional body.

Fees and the health surcharge

At the time of writing (October 2026), the application fee is:

• £324 per person for a visa of up to 3 years
• £628 per person for a visa of more than 3 years

The fee is the same inside or outside the UK. Partners and children pay the same fee.

Health and Care Worker visa holders, and their partners and children, do not pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). The IHS is a yearly charge most visa holders pay for NHS care. NHS care is free from the date the visa starts. Some services still cost money, such as prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests.

Applicants usually also show £1,270 in savings. This does not apply to people who have been in the UK with a visa for at least 12 months, or whose sponsor covers their first month's costs.

How long it lasts

A visa can last up to 5 years before it needs extending. Permission ends 14 days after the end date on the CoS. The visa can be extended again as long as the rules are still met. After 5 years, holders may be able to apply to settle (indefinite leave to remain, or ILR).

What holders can and cannot do

Holders can:

• work in the job they are sponsored for, including overtime in that job
• do up to 20 hours a week of other work in certain jobs
• study
• do unpaid voluntary work for a charity, voluntary organisation or statutory body
• travel abroad and come back

Holders cannot:

• claim most benefits (public funds) or the State Pension
• change job or employer without updating their visa

There are limits on bringing family for care workers and senior care workers. A partner or child can usually only join if the worker has been employed as a care worker on this visa, or a Skilled Worker visa, since before 11 March 2024. There are some exceptions for children, such as a child born in the UK.

Every situation is different. A regulated immigration adviser can look at an individual case.