Health & Care Worker
Visa

The Health and Care Visa is a type of visa designed for healthcare professionals who wish to work in the UK. It is intended to support the UK’s healthcare system and ensure that it has access to the skilled workforce it needs. Applicants may also bring their dependents with them to the UK.

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This visa is available to qualified doctors, nurses, health professionals or adult social care professionals who have been offered a job in the UK health sector. Applicants will need a valid Certificate of Sponsorship which contains information about your job title, salary, and start date.

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The cost for a Health and Care Visa depends on the length of the visa:

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• £247 for up to 3 years

• £479 for over 3 years

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This route may lead to settlement (indefinite leave to remain) after 5 years.

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In addition, you normally need to have funds of £1270 available to support yourself in the UK. The applicant and their dependant family are exempt from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge.

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You will also need to meet the English language requirements (at least level B1 CEFR), unless you are a national of one of the listed countries. You must also provide a criminal record certificate (if applying for outside the UK) for most occupation codes.

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The processing time for a Health and Care Visa application can vary depending on various factors, such as the country from which you are applying and the complexity of your case. The UKVI aims to process Health and Care Visa applications within 3 weeks.

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If you need your visa application to be processed more quickly, you may be able to use the priority or super-priority service, which are available in some countries for an additional fee. These services can expedite the processing time of your application, with priority service taking approximately 5 working days and super-priority service taking approximately 24 hours.