Health and Care Worker Visa

A certificate of sponsorship will be assigned to health and care workers after they receive a job offer from their new employer. This is an essential part of your application to ensure you qualify to be granted a Health and Care Worker Visa. It must come from a government-approved employer to support your Health and Care visa application form.

For those who anticipate working for an NHS supplier, they must also provide evidence of their contract with the NHS along with the digital Certificate of Sponsorship.

It is important to note that the certificate differs slightly from the one required for a Skilled Worker Visa. An explanation from your new employer on how you meet the job requirements is required with the certificate before the care visa application.

In order to apply for a Health and Care Worker Visa, you will be required to meet the document requirements set out in the immigration rules from the Home Office to support your visa application. Care visa applicants need to ensure that they provide the following:

• Certificate of Sponsor reference number- this can be obtained from your employer
• Proof of their English language knowledge
• A valid passport or an alternative document that shows your nationality and identity
• Your job title and annual salary
• Your jobs occupation code
• The name of your employer and their sponsor license number- you can find this on your Certificate of Sponsor

Particular job roles will require you to submit a criminal record certificate in addition to the information and documents outlined above. You can check with your prospective employer to understand if you need to submit a criminal record certificate for your job role.

Applications for a Health and Care Worker Visa are to be made online via the UK government website.

Initially, you will apply for the care worker visa via the skilled worker route, until you are asked to specify if you are applying for a Health and Care Worker Visa. At this point, you would disclose that yes you are.

A considerable part of the Health and Care visa application is providing your documents for proof of identity. There are two methods that you can use to do so. You can either submit it digitally via the UK Immigration: ID Check application or you can attend an in-person appointment at a specified visa application centre to have your photographs and fingerprints taken.

To make a valid Health and Care via application, you must submit your application and documents along with the visa application fee.

The cost of the Health and Care visa will vary depending on the length of time you plan on working within the United Kingdom in the health and care profession.

For those who plan on staying for less than three years, the initial free will be £247. Anything over 3 years comes at a cost of £479 for the health and care visa application.

Please note that this fee only covers the cost of your health and care visa application. Individuals planning on obtaining their care visa must also have at least £1,270 available in funds to support maintaining living in the UK once the care visa is granted. It is the responsibility of the care worker visa holders to ensure they have enough personal savings to support themselves.

For citizens of certain countries, reduced visa fees of £55 may be available. If you live in one of the following countries and fall into the Care Worker Visa category, you be eligible for reduced fees:

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden or Turkey.

During your time living in the UK, there multiple things that your Health and Care visa will allow you to do. As somebody on a care worker visa, you are permitted to do the following:

• Work an eligible job
• Volunteer
• Acquire an additional job (not always permitted)
• Study
• Bring your children and partner to live with you
• Travel into and out of the United Kingdom
• Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after five years of living and working in the UK
• Apply to extend your Health and Care visa if you wish to continue working in the UK- you must be in the same job as you were when you were previously granted entry clearance
• You are not required to pay the immigration health surcharge

When qualified nurses, doctors, social care or healthcare professionals accept a job offer from a licensed sponsor, they will receive a standard occupational classification code (SOC) listed below. Here are some eligible jobs under the Health and Care Worker visa:

Eligible jobs under the Health and Care Worker visa and their SOC code:

• 2211 – Medical practitioners
• 2231 – Nurses
• 2232 – Midwives
• 2213 – Pharmacists
• 2214 – Ophthalmic opticians
• 2215 – Dental practitioners
• 2217 – Medical radiographers
• 2218 – Podiatrists
• 2212 – Psychologists
• 2221 – Physiotherapists
• 2222 – Occupational therapists
• 2223 – Speech and language therapists
• 3213 – Paramedics
• 3216 – Dispensing opticians
• 3217 – Pharmaceutical technicians
• 3218 – Medical and dental technicians
• 3219 – Health associate professionals (not elsewhere classified)
• 2442 – Social workers
• 2112 – Biological scientists and biochemists
• 2113 – Physical scientists
• 3111 – Laboratory technicians
• 2229 – Therapy professionals (not elsewhere classified)
• 1181 – Health services and public health managers and directors
• 1242 – Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors
• 6141 – Nursing auxiliaries and assistants
• 6143 – Dental nurses
• 6145 – Care workers & home carers
• 6146 – Senior care workers

Here is a list of all the supporting documents you will need for a Health and Care worker visa application:

Health and Care visa holders must notify the Home Office if they change their job or their UK sponsor employer changes for whatever reason. This will update your visa. For instance, you will be required to contact the Home Office if:

• Your job occupation code changes
• Your employer changes
• Starting a new job that is not on the shortage occupation list
• Starting a new job where the details are different to what is on your certificate of sponsorship