DavidsonMorris has a specialized team dedicated to assisting with health and nursing visa applications. For a consultation, please contact us. A health and care visa can be applied for up to three months before a person is scheduled to work in the UK. Applications will be expedited and, if accepted, decided within three weeks. Quicker decisions can be dealt with if a person decides to make an appointment inside or outside the UK. Your sponsorship certificate must have been issued no later than 3 months before the date of your health and care visa application. You will also have to pay for any paid treatments you received prior to your visa start date. Upon receipt, your Health and Care Worker visa application will be prioritized and fast-tracked by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). The UK government intends to introduce a new NHS visa to save the sector from its workforce problems. But what does the actual visa include? Olivia Bridge explains. The health and nursing visa is a relatively new visa category and it can be difficult to know if you are eligible. Our lawyers are trained on the latest updates to UK immigration law, including health and care visa, we can assess if you are eligible.

If you live in the UK on the health and care visa, you must follow certain immigration rules. With this visa, you can do the following: The main feature of this NHS visa is a visa discount. The fee was cut in half, from £928 to £464. However, some believe that the cost is still insufficient to attract European workers, who reserve the right to continue moving, working and living for free in one of the remaining 27 EU member states. This fee also does not include other hidden costs such as biometric registration fees, mandatory English testing, or additional legal fees. To apply for the health and care visa, you must first be awarded a CoS by your UK sponsor. This is a unique reference number that you use to apply online on the home office website. The relevant Standard Classification of Occupations (SOC) codes that meet the eligibility criteria for the Health and Care Worker visa are as follows: Samuel is a Spanish laboratory technician who got a job at Southampton NHS Foundation Trust University Hospital and passed his English test which receives the mandatory 50 points for skills.

Job offer and English. The position attracted a salary of £21,000. Samuel has a PhD, which gives him the remaining 20 points on his health and care visa. Some applicants must also prove that they can finance themselves. If you are applying from abroad, you will need to prove that you have had £1,270 in your bank account for at least 28 consecutive days. Day 28 must be within 31 days of the date you applied for your visa. You are exempt from this financial requirement if you are applying to the UK and have held a valid visa for at least 12 months or if your employer can cover your costs for the first month you are in the country. There are separate salary requirements for those working in the following occupational codes: As with any UK visa application, you will need to provide various supporting documents, including, where applicable, the following: If your UK sponsor is a private organisation providing healthcare services under contract with the NHS, you will also need to provide a statement and possibly written proof of contractual arrangements with the NHS. NHS as proof of your eligibility for a health and care visa.

It can take up to 5 years for your visa to be extended. You will need to apply for your visa to be extended or upgraded when it expires or when you change jobs or employers. Only workers employed in eligible roles are eligible for the health and care visa. Nurses were added to the list of occupations in short supply in February 2022, but this status remains subject to review and modification by the government. If your application is accepted, you will get a complete list of what you can and cannot do with a health and caregiver visa. The Home Office has expanded priority visa services and is now available to EU citizens who hold a biometric passport from an EU country (including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) and submit applications via UK Immigration: ID Check app for skilled workers, healthcare and care workers and student visas. Yes. To be eligible for the health and care visa, you must prove that you can read, write, speak and understand English at least at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

In addition to the role that falls under one of the above SOC categories, to be eligible for the visa, an applicant must also have been offered employment by an approved sponsor. The sponsoring organisation must also be an NHS organisation or trust, an NHS medical service provider, an organisation providing adult social care or one of the many other medical and social care organisations listed in the official guidelines. This could include, for example, a person employed or registered with one of the following industry organisations: If you are interested in applying for a UK visa, contact our professional immigration lawyers today. Our lawyers are located across the UK with offices in London, Birmingham and Manchester. They offer an application package that guides you through the visa application process. Contact us today for more information. You are not entitled to most benefits or a state pension. You cannot change jobs or employers unless you update your visa. You can usually apply for an extension of your health and care visa if you still meet the salary requirements and: Below, we look at the key requirements for this visa pathway, including eligibility criteria and application process, the cost of health and nursing visas, and processing times. You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before the date you start working in the UK. This date is indicated on your sponsorship certificate.

Doctors, nurses, health professionals and qualified adult social professionals can apply for the health and nursing visa. The surcharge was introduced on April 6, 2015. If you are in the UK now but have applied for your visa before that date, you may still be eligible for free NHS hospital treatment in England on the same basis as a person who habitually resides. If you plan to make the UK your permanent residence, you can also apply for permanent residence after living in the UK for 5 years on this visa. The permanent residence permit allows you to live, work and study in the UK without being limited in time. If you apply for an extension of your visa, you may also have to pay an additional supplement. The full amount will be paid in advance for the duration of your visa. As a result, the vast majority of health care professionals who apply through this channel can generally expect a decision on their application within 3 weeks of the date they provide their biometric information. This is much faster than the current processing time for skilled worker visas, which can range from 8 to 20 weeks. However, the processing of UKVI continues to be delayed due to the pandemic and prioritisation of Ukrainian applications, so it is recommended to seek advice on current processing times when applying. If your visa is restricted or terminated earlier than planned by the Home Office, you may be charged for additional NHS hospital treatment from that date, even if you have paid the supplement.

Before you can apply for a health and nursing visa, you must have a job offer from a sponsor approved by the Ministry of Interior. As legal representatives, we are unable to arrange job offers in the UK or sponsor visa applicants. Assistance is also available through a dedicated NHS visa support and processing team, allowing visa applicants and sponsors to contact UKVI`s specialist team if they have any issues with the application process or eligibility for the health and care visa. As a potential employee, your new employer is responsible for informing you that you are eligible for the health and nursing visa.