New Health and Care Visa

The Health and Care Visa was launched on 4 August 2020 and it forms part of the Skilled Worker visa route. The Health and Care visa is only available to specified professions: qualified doctors, nurses and allied health professionals who have been trained to a recognised standard and who have good working English. The scope of the visa was extended to include eligible persons working in the social care sector.

The benefits of the Health and Care visa:

Who can benefit from the Health and Care visa

Only the jobs specified by the Home Office can benefit from the Health and Care visa. Please see the list of the qualifying jobs further below. This is an exhaustive list and therefore applicants must be taking up a job in one of the above occupations to be eligible for the Health and Care Visa.

The applicants for the Health and Care visa must be employed by NHS Trusts or other specified employers. Please see the relevant list of employers further below.

In addition to the specific requirements set out for the Health and Care visa, applicants for will need to meet all relevant criteria for a Skilled Worker visa category

Please also note that the health and care visa applicants will also require criminal record certificates from all countries they resided for at least 12 months in total during the 10 years before application.

Requirements for Health and Care visa UK

The requirements for Health and Care visa are set out in the Immigrations Rules at Appendix Skilled Worker and include the following:

  • work for a UK employer that’s been approved by the Home Office
  • do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations
  • be paid a minimum salary – how much depends on the type of work the applicant does
  • be able to speak, read, write and understand English at the required level.

Procedure for obtaining the Heath and Care visa

The sponsor employer will be required to include a brief explanation in the Certificate of Sponsorship, setting out how the employee meets the Health and Care Visa eligibility requirements.

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.

Individuals applying for the Health and Care Visa will need to submit their applications using the normal Skilled Worker application form and, assuming their employer has confirmed how the employee is eligible, the applicant will check the box to confirm they are applying for the Health and Care Visa. 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. Partners and dependants of Health and Care Visa applicants should therefore also tick this box.

Where an application is made, but the applicant does not appear to meet the conditions, that application may be rejected (as the correct fee will not have been paid). If you are unsure you should check with your sponsor before completing the application.

If you are applying as a partner or dependant of a person who qualifies for the Health and Care Visa, but the qualifying person arrived in the UK before the Health and Care Visa was available, then you will need confirmation from the sponsor that the person upon whom your application is reliant, is eligible for the visa.

The sponsor will need to provide the information, which would normally be included in the Certificate of Sponsorship, to the applicant for inclusion in the partner or dependant application. This should be in the form of a letter or an email from the sponsor and would set out the organisation and, if not an NHS body, how the organisation qualifies under paragraph 2 of this guidance.

health and care visa

The Health and Care Visa will apply to the following list of Standard Occupational Classification codes (the specified jobs):

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 not elsewhere classified

· 2221 – Physiotherapists

· 2222 – Occupational Therapists

· 2223 – Speech and Language Therapists

· 2229 – Therapy professionals not elsewhere classified

· 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

6145 – Care workers and home carers

Additional care worker jobs added to Shortage occupation

The below listed care jobs are on the UK Shortage Occupation List from 15/02/2022 and qualify for the Health and Care visa. This addition is temporary for 12 months, and afterwards the Home Office will review it and decide if this arrangement will continue. For the 12 next months until mid February 2023, care workers and carers from overseas will be able to move with dependents, including partners and children, and the visa offers a path to settlement in the UK.

6145 Care workers and home carers• Care assistant
• Care worker
• Carer
• Home care assistant
• Home carer
• Support worker (nursing home)
Soc Code 6145 Care Workers and home carers

Only jobs at Specified employers qualify for the Health and Care visa

· A person who will be employed or engaged by:

  • An NHS Foundation Trust in England, an NHS Trust in England, the Care Quality Commission, Health Education England, Health Research Authority, Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, Human Tissue Authority, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NHS Blood and Transplant, NHS Business Services Authority, NHS Digital (the Health and Social Care Information Centre), NHS England (the NHS Commissioning Board), NHS Improvement (Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority, NHS Resolution (the NHS Litigation Authority or Public Health England, a Local Authority or Clinical Commissioning Group; or
  • A local Health Board in Wales, Health Education & Improvement Wales, Public Health Wales, The Welsh Ambulance Service or Velindre NHS Trust; or
  • A Health Board or Special Health Board constituted under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service (established under Section 10 of that Act), Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (known as the Care Inspectorate) established under Section 44 of the Public Services (reform) (Scotland) Act 2010 or Scottish Social Services Council established under section 43 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001; or
  • A Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service, Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency, Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, Northern Ireland Practice and Education Committee, Northern Ireland Social Care Council, Patient and Client Council, Regional Agency for Public Health and Social Well-Being (the Public Health Agency), Regional Business Services Organisation, Regional Health and Social Care Board or Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority; or

A person who is employed:

  • To provide, or to support the provision of, regulated activities as prescribed in Schedule 1 (read with Schedule 2) to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/2936), and who is also employed or engaged by an institution or organisation registered with the Care Quality Commission; or
  • For the purposes of an establishment or agency in Wales regulated under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000; or
  • For the purposes of a service regulated under Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016; or

A person who is employed or engaged by a party to:

  • A general medical services contract to provide primary medical services, or an agreement for the provision of primary medical services under section 50 of the NHS (Wales) Act 2006; or
  • A general dental services contract to provide primary dental services, or an agreement for the provision of primary dental services under section 64 of the NHS (Wales) Act 2006; or

A person who:

  • Is providing care services as defined in section 47(1) of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and registered under that Act; or
  • Is employed or engaged by an organisation registered with Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland; or
  • Is, or who is employed or engaged in connection with the provision of services under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 by, a party (other than a Health Board) to: – an arrangement to provide services under section 2C of that Act; – an agreement to provide services under section 17C of that Act; – a contract to provide services under section 17J of that Act; or – an arrangement to provide services under section 25, 26 or 27 of that Act; or
  • A person who is employed or engaged by a General Practitioner Federation or by any entity with which the Northern Ireland Regional Health and Social Care Board has a contract or an arrangement under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 to provide Family Practitioner Services; or
  • A person who is employed or engaged by a body registered with, or monitored or inspected by, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority, and who, if that body were in England and they were employed or engaged by it, would meet the criteria set out in (vi) a), above; or
  • A person employed or engaged by, or registered with, one of the following organisations: General Chiropractic Council; General Dental Council; General Medical Council; General Optical Council; General Osteopathic Council; General Pharmaceutical Council; Health and Care Professions Council; Northern Ireland Social Care Council; Nursing and Midwifery Council; Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland; Scottish Social Services Council (under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001) or Social Care Wales, or
  • A person employed by an organisation providing adult social care services. Adult social care services means any services which an English Local Authority must or may provide or arrange to be provided under:

a) Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 – (After-care)

b) Part 1 of the Care Act 2014 (Care and Support).