Health and Care Worker Visa UK 2026: Full Guide

The Health and Care Worker visa lets qualified doctors, nurses and care staff work for the NHS or an adult social care employer in the UK, with a lower fee and no health surcharge.

This guide is general information, not immigration advice. Check GOV.UK before you apply or pay anyone. ukjobly.com publishes guides only and cannot promise you a job, a visa, or sponsorship.

What the Health and Care Worker visa is

The Health and Care Worker visa lets qualified doctors, nurses, health professionals and adult social care staff come to or stay in the UK to work in an eligible health or social care job. The employer must be the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or an organisation providing adult social care.

It sits inside the Skilled Worker route — same main rules (licensed employer, certificate of sponsorship, eligible job, salary that meets the rule) — but the fee is lower, and you and your dependants pay no Immigration Health Surcharge. For the wider sponsorship rules, see our guide to UK visa sponsorship jobs.

ukjobly.com lists no jobs. This guide explains the rules so you can check the job, the employer and the costs before you apply.

Who can apply

You need a confirmed job offer first. To qualify, you must:

• be a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional;
• work in an eligible health or social care job;
• work for a UK employer approved by the Home Office;
• have a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from that employer, with details of the role offered;
• be paid the minimum salary for the job.

Without a licensed employer there is no route: you cannot apply for this visa on your own. The CoS is an electronic record, not a paper document. It carries a reference number you need for the visa application, and you must apply for the visa within 3 months of getting it.

An employer that is not yet approved can apply for a sponsor licence if eligible: £611 for a small business or charity, or £1,682 for a medium or large organisation, usually decided in around 8 weeks.

Jobs that qualify

GOV.UK lists 31 occupation codes for a new application:

• Doctors, dentists and other clinicians: 2211 generalist medical practitioners, 2212 specialist medical practitioners, 2253 dental practitioners, 2254 medical radiographers, 2255 paramedics, 2256 podiatrists, 2251 pharmacists, 2252 optometrists, 2259 other health professionals.
• Nurses and midwives: 2231 midwifery nurses, 2232 registered community nurses, 2233 registered specialist nurses, 2234 registered nurse practitioners, 2235 registered mental health nurses, 2236 registered children’s nurses, 2237 other registered nursing professionals.
• Allied health and therapy: 2221 physiotherapists, 2222 occupational therapists, 2223 speech and language therapists, 2224 psychotherapists and cognitive behaviour therapists, 2225 clinical psychologists, 2226 other psychologists, 2229 therapy professionals not elsewhere classified.
• Science and lab: 2113 biochemists and biomedical scientists, 2114 physical scientists, 3111 laboratory technicians, 3212 pharmaceutical technicians.
• Managers, social work and care support: 1171 health services and public health managers and directors, 1232 residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors, 2461 social workers, 6131 nursing auxiliaries and assistants.

Care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136) are NOT on this list for new applications from outside the UK. For more on care roles, see our guide to health care assistant jobs in the NHS.

Six more codes — 1231, 3211, 3213, 3219, 6132 and 6133 — can still be used to extend or update this visa, but only if the CoS was issued before 22 July 2025 and the worker has held a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa without a break since then.

Salary rules

Your pay must usually be at least £25,000 a year, or the going rate for your job if that is higher. Each occupation code has its own annual going rate, published by the Home Office.

A different rule applies to ten codes — 1171, 1231, 1232, 2113, 2114, 3111, 3211, 3212, 6135 and 6136. For those jobs, pay must usually be at least £31,300 a year, or the lower going rate for the job, whichever is higher.

Lower pay is possible for the £31,300 group — 70 to 90% of the lower going rate — if the salary is at least £25,000 a year and the worker is under 26, studying or a recent graduate, in professional training, or holds a relevant PhD (STEM PhD: 80%; non-STEM PhD: 90%, at least £28,200 a year). The discount cannot be used if the job is on the Immigration Salary List, where the rule is at least £25,000 or the full going rate, whichever is higher.

For jobs paid on national pay scales — most NHS clinical roles — the pay must meet the rate on the national pay scale for the job, band and part of the UK, as well as the £25,000 floor.

NHS Agenda for Change pay, England 2026/27, entry step, full-time:

• Band 2: £25,272
• Band 3: £25,760–£27,476
• Band 4: £28,392
• Band 5: £32,073–£39,043
• Band 6: £39,959
• Band 7: £49,387

The 2026/27 award was a 3.3% uplift, in force from 1 April 2026. Newly qualified nurses, midwives, paramedics and most allied health professionals start at Band 5. These figures are England only — Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own scales.

What it costs

The fee is the same inside or outside the UK, per person:

• up to 3 years: £324
• more than 3 years: £628

The Immigration Health Surcharge is £0. You, your partner and your children do not pay it, and you can use the NHS for free from the date your visa starts. You still pay for some services, such as prescriptions, dental treatment, eye tests and assisted conception.

You must also show at least £1,270 in the bank, held for at least 28 days in a row, with day 28 within 31 days of applying. No proof is needed if you have been in the UK on a valid visa for 12 months, or if your employer certifies maintenance on the CoS.

Dependants must show their own money too: £285 for a partner, £315 for one child, and £200 for each extra child, held for 28 days in a row.

The care worker change: what closed on 22 July 2025

From 22 July 2025, sponsors cannot assign a CoS in codes 6135 (care workers and home carers) or 6136 (senior care workers) to someone applying from outside the UK. New overseas recruitment for these two roles is closed.

Workers already in the UK can still extend or switch into these roles until 22 July 2028, if they have worked legally for that sponsor in the role for at least 3 months before the CoS is assigned. Codes 6135 and 6136 stay on the Immigration Salary List until 22 July 2028.

Care employers in England must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) if they sponsor care workers or senior care workers.

New care workers sponsored since 11 March 2024 cannot bring dependants. The only exceptions are a child born in the UK, a sole surviving parent, or where both parents are sponsored care workers.

Any advert that still promises overseas care worker sponsorship is out of date or not genuine. If care work is your route, look at other health roles on this visa instead.

English language

New applicants must prove English at level B2 (CEFR) in reading, writing, speaking and listening, with a UK school qualification, a degree taught in English, or a Secure English Language Test (SELT) with an approved provider.

Workers who held this visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending or updating it need level B1, and do not need to prove English again. If you are switching from a Skilled Worker visa, you do not need to prove it again; switching from a different visa means B2.

No proof is needed for nationals of listed countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Jamaica. Doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives do not need to prove English if they have already passed an English assessment accepted by their UK regulator — for example, the NMC or GMC.

How to apply, step by step

1. Find an eligible job with a licensed sponsor. Real NHS roles are listed on NHS Jobs — see our guide to NHS jobs in London for how NHS hiring works, and read our guide on how to find a job in the UK before you start applying.
2. Prepare a UK-style CV. See how to create a CV for UK jobs.
3. Attend the interview and get the job offer and your CoS. Read our interview tips for UK jobs first.
4. Check your English and your savings (£1,270 for 28 days, unless your sponsor certifies maintenance).
5. Apply online within 3 months of getting the CoS, and no earlier than 3 months before your start date.
6. Prove your identity and give your documents, then wait for the decision. A faster decision can be paid for.

If you are from a listed country, you may also need to provide tuberculosis (TB) test results.

How long it takes and how long it lasts

You can apply up to 3 months before the job start date shown on the CoS. A decision usually comes within 3 weeks of applying online, proving your identity and giving your documents. A faster decision can be paid for.

The visa can last up to 5 years before it needs to be extended, and it can be extended as many times as you still meet the rules. Changing job or employer means applying to update the visa.

After 5 years, you may be able to apply to settle permanently (indefinite leave to remain), if the other settlement rules are met. The government has announced plans to change settlement rules, so check GOV.UK before you apply.

Bringing your partner and children

Your partner and children can usually apply as dependants. Each dependant pays the same application fee — £324 for up to 3 years, or £628 for more — and must show money held for 28 days in a row: £285 for a partner, £315 for one child, £200 for each extra child.

Two limits apply. Care workers and senior care workers (6135/6136): dependants can only join or stay if the worker has been continuously employed in the UK in one of these roles on a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa since before 11 March 2024. The exceptions are a child born in the UK, a sole surviving parent, or where both parents are sponsored care workers.

For other medium-skilled jobs, dependants are only allowed if the worker has been continuously employed in the UK in a medium-skilled job on this visa since before 22 July 2025, with the same exceptions.

Dependants usually get a decision within 3 weeks if applying from outside the UK, or within 8 weeks from inside the UK.

Health and Care Worker visa vs Skilled Worker visa

Both visas are work routes, but the Health and Care Worker visa is only for health and care jobs — and it is cheaper. If your job is an eligible health or care role with the NHS, an NHS supplier or an adult social care employer, this route saves you the health surcharge and a large part of the fee.

How to check a sponsor is licensed

The Home Office publishes the Register of licensed sponsors (workers) on GOV.UK. Search it for the employer’s exact name before you accept an offer or pay anything — the legal name can differ from the brand name. The register is updated regularly, so check a fresh copy each time.

Being on the register means the employer can sponsor. It does not prove the job is real or that the employer will sponsor you. If the name is not on the register, the employer cannot sponsor you for this visa.

Scams to avoid

No genuine employer or agent can sell a job offer or a certificate of sponsorship. The CoS comes free from the sponsor, after a real job offer — the only fee you pay to the Home Office is the visa application fee (£324 or £628 per person).

• Any offer of a care worker or senior care worker job with sponsorship from outside the UK is not real — overseas recruitment for codes 6135 and 6136 closed on 22 July 2025.
• Never pay an agent who promises a CoS, a guaranteed visa or a job without an interview.
• If an offer asks for a large upfront payment for “sponsorship”, walk away.
• Check the employer on the official Register of licensed sponsors before paying anything. Real NHS jobs are listed on NHS Jobs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker visa: overview
• GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker visa: how much it costs
• GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker visa: knowledge of English
• GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker visa: your partner and children
• GOV.UK — Skilled Worker visa: how much it costs
• GOV.UK — Register of licensed sponsors (workers)
• NHS Employers — Agenda for Change pay scales 2026/27
• NHS Jobs — find NHS vacancies
• Care Quality Commission — check a care provider is registered
• Home Office — A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government Response (CP 1707), 2 November 2026 (earned settlement — policy, not yet law)

Sources checked November 2026.