Care Worker Visa: the Health and Care Worker Route

What the Health and Care Worker visa is

A Health and Care Worker visa allows medical professionals to come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job with the NHS, an NHS supplier or in adult social care. You must have a confirmed job offer from an approved employer and a certificate of sponsorship before you apply. The visa can last for up to 5 years before you need to extend, and after 5 years you may be able to apply to settle permanently.

Neither you nor your partner or children pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. You can use the NHS free of charge from the date your visa starts, though some services such as prescriptions, dental treatment, eye tests and assisted conception are still chargeable.

Eligibility requirements

You must meet all of these requirements to qualify for the Health and Care Worker route.

• Qualified professional

  You are a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional.

• Eligible occupation code

  Your job's 4-digit occupation code is on the list of eligible health and care codes below.

• Approved health or care employer

  A confirmed job offer from the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or an adult social care provider that is approved by the Home Office.

• Certificate of sponsorship

  An electronic CoS from your employer describing the role. Apply within 3 months of it being assigned and up to 3 months before your start date.

• Salary

  At least £25,000, or the going rate for your job if higher. Different thresholds apply to a set of listed codes (see below).

• Knowledge of English

  Level B2 (CEFR) for a new application; B1 if you held the visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending or updating.

• Money to support yourself

  £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days, unless you have been in the UK on a valid visa for 12 months or your sponsor certifies maintenance.

• Minimum wage and hours

  Your employer must pay at least the minimum wage and follow UK working-hours rules. GOV.UK states your application will be refused if they do not.

Eligible occupation codes

You can apply for a Health and Care Worker visa if your job is in one of these codes.

If you are extending, updating or switching, your job can also be in 6135 (care workers and home carers) or 6136 (senior care workers). If you are extending or updating with a certificate of sponsorship issued before 22 July 2025 and have held Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visas continuously since, your job can also be in 1231 health care practice managers, 3211 dispensing opticians, 3213 medical and dental technicians, 3219 health associate professionals not elsewhere classified, 6132 ambulance staff (excluding paramedics) or 6133 dental nurses.

If you do not know your code, GOV.UK points to the CASCOT occupation coding tool. Make sure the job description matches what you will do: dentists and dental hygiene therapists, for example, have different codes.

Eligible employers

You must have a job offer from one of the following, approved by the Home Office as a sponsor.

• The NHS.
• An organisation providing medical services to the NHS.
• An organisation providing adult social care.

If your employer is not yet approved they can apply for a sponsor licence. The fee is £611 for small businesses and charities or £1,682 for medium and large organisations, and a licence application usually takes around 8 weeks. Care workers and senior care workers in England must be sponsored by an employer registered with the Care Quality Commission.

Salary requirements in detail

Most health and care going rates are set by the national pay scales, listed by NHS pay band and area of the UK, and apply in the public and private sector alike.

Standard requirement

At least £25,000, or the going rate if higher

Codes 1171, 1231, 1232, 2113, 2114, 3111, 3211, 3212, 6135, 6136

£31,300 or the lower going rate, whichever is higher

Listed codes: new entrant (70% of lower going rate)

At least £25,000

Listed codes: relevant STEM PhD (80%)

At least £25,000

Listed codes: relevant non-STEM PhD (90%)

At least £28,200

Listed codes: postdoctoral scientist in 2113 or 2114 (70%)

At least £25,000

Listed codes: job on the immigration salary list

At least £25,000 and the full going rate; no further discount

GOV.UK gives this example for the listed codes: a salary of £32,000 where the lower going rate is £33,000 does not meet the requirement. You count as a new entrant if you are under 26 when you apply, are or recently were in the UK on a Student visa at bachelor's level or above, are working towards a recognised qualification in a UK regulated profession, or are working towards full registration or chartered status in your sponsored job. If you rely on the new-entrant or postdoctoral rate, your total stay cannot exceed 4 years including any time on a Tier 2 (General) visa.

Knowledge of English

• A UK school qualification you began under 18: a GCSE, an A level, a Scottish National Qualification at level 4 or 5, or a Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English.
• A degree-level qualification taught in English and awarded by a UK institution.
• A degree taught in English from an institution outside the UK, confirmed by Ecctis as equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or higher.
• A Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider at level B2 or above in all four components.

If you had this visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending or updating, you need level B1 and do not need to prove it again. Switching from a Skilled Worker visa also needs no new proof. Switching from any other visa requires B2. Doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives who have passed an English assessment accepted by their regulator do not need to prove English, and nor do nationals of the majority-English-speaking countries listed by GOV.UK (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the USA, Malta and the Caribbean Commonwealth states).

Fees and costs

The fee is the same whether you apply from inside or outside the UK, and dependants pay the same as you.

Application fee, up to 3 years

£324 per person

Application fee, more than 3 years

£628 per person

Immigration Health Surcharge

Not payable, for you or your dependants

Money to support yourself

£1,270 held for 28 consecutive days

Funds for a dependant partner

£285

Funds for your first child

£315

Funds for each additional child

£200

Biometrics (fingerprints and photo)

No fee

Faster decision (priority services)

Extra fee; availability shown when you apply

Sponsor licence (paid by employer)

£611 small or charity; £1,682 medium or large

Your day 28 of holding the £1,270 must fall within 31 days of the date you apply. You do not need to show it if you have been in the UK on a valid visa for at least 12 months, or if your employer completes the 'sponsor certifies maintenance' section of your certificate of sponsorship. Figures as published on GOV.UK, last updated 29 April 2026.

Cost comparison

How a 3-year application from outside the UK compares with the standard Skilled Worker visa, using the GOV.UK published figures.

Health and Care Worker visa fee (up to 3 years)

£324

Health and Care Worker IHS (3 years)

£0

Health and Care Worker total

£324

Standard Skilled Worker visa fee (up to 3 years, from outside the UK)

£819

Standard Skilled Worker IHS (3 years at £1,035)

£3,105

Standard Skilled Worker total

£3,924

That is £3,600 less per person over 3 years than the standard Skilled Worker route, and the same saving applies to each dependant.

Processing times

The Health and Care Worker route has a 3-week decision standard for the main applicant wherever you apply from.

Applying from outside the UK

3 weeks

Extending, updating or switching inside the UK

3 weeks

Dependants applying from outside the UK

3 weeks

Dependants extending or switching inside the UK

8 weeks

Priority or super priority service

May be offered for an extra fee; you are told when you apply

The clock starts once you have applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents. UKVI will contact you within the standard if your application will take longer, for example because documents need verifying, you need an interview, or you have a criminal conviction. Times published on GOV.UK: applications outside the UK, 26 June 2026; applications inside the UK, 21 July 2025.

Documents you'll need

• Your certificate of sponsorship reference number, given to you by your employer.
• Proof of your knowledge of English.
• A valid passport or other document showing your identity and nationality.
• Your job title and annual salary.
• Your job's occupation code.
• Your employer's name and sponsor licence number, as shown on your certificate of sponsorship.

Depending on your circumstances you might also be asked for:

• Evidence of personal savings, such as bank statements, unless your CoS shows your employer can support you.
• Proof of your relationship with your partner or children if they are applying with you.
• Your tuberculosis test results if you are from a listed country.
• A criminal record certificate if you are applying from outside the UK, unless your job is in code 2113, 2114, 3111 or 6132. If you are under 28 you need one from any country you have stayed in for 12 months or more since turning 18; if 28 or over, from any country you have stayed in over the last 10 years.
• Your UK PhD certificate, or your Ecctis reference number for an overseas doctorate, if you are claiming a PhD salary discount.
• A certified translation of any document not in English or Welsh.

Application process

The usual order of events for a health or care sector application.

Your partner and children

Dependants apply separately, pay the same reduced fee and no healthcare surcharge, and their visas usually end on the same date as yours.

A dependant is your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner; your child under 18, including one born in the UK during your stay; or your child over 18 who already has permission to be in the UK as your dependant. A 'family linking code' connects your applications if you apply first.

• Partners must prove a marriage or civil partnership recognised in the UK, or that you have lived together in a relationship for at least 2 years, or an ongoing commitment where you cannot live together.
• Children must live with you (unless away in full-time education) and not be married or in a civil partnership. Evidence of address includes a bank statement, credit card bills, a driving licence, an NHS registration document or a letter from their university or college.
• Each dependant pays £324 (up to 3 years) or £628 (more than 3 years), and needs funds of £285 for a partner, £315 for one child and £200 for each additional child held for 28 days, unless you have all been in the UK for 12 months or your sponsor certifies maintenance.
• Dependants can work (except as a sportsperson or coach), study, travel abroad and return, and apply to settle after 5 years. They cannot claim most benefits or the State Pension.
• Dependants inside the UK cannot switch to join you if they are here as a visitor, short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, seasonal worker, domestic worker in a private household, on immigration bail or with permission granted outside the rules. A Student-visa dependant must have completed their course or studied a PhD for at least 24 months.
• A child born in the UK does not automatically become British. Apply to add them before they turn 18, providing a full UK birth certificate naming both parents.

Extending, updating and switching

What GOV.UK requires for each kind of in-country application, and what additional work is allowed.

Extend your visa if all of the following are true:

• You have the same job, in the same occupation code, as when you were last given permission.
• You are still working for the employer who assigned your current certificate of sponsorship.
• You still meet the salary requirements.

Update your visa if any of the following apply:

• You are moving to a different employer. Care workers changing employer in England need a new employer registered with the Care Quality Commission.
• Your job changes to a different occupation code and you are not in a graduate training programme.
• You leave a job on the immigration salary list for one that is not listed. You do not need to apply if your job is removed from the list while you stay in it.
• You take a second job of more than 20 paid hours a week: you need a new CoS from the second employer and a letter giving your name, date of birth, current CoS reference and the date your permission expires.

You can apply to update up to 3 months before your new start date and keep working in your current job while you wait, but should not start the new job until your new permission is confirmed. If you provided proof of English when you first applied, you will need to provide the same proof again.

Switch from another visa if:

• Your job meets the eligibility requirements and you meet the English requirement.
• If you are on a Student visa: you have completed your course, your job starts after your course ends, or you have studied a full-time PhD for at least 24 months.
• If you are switching into a care worker or senior care worker role: you have worked legally in the job for your sponsor for at least 3 months.
• You are not in the UK as a visitor, short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, seasonal worker, domestic worker in a private household, on immigration bail or with permission granted outside the rules. In those cases you must leave and apply from abroad.

Common refusal reasons

Each mandatory requirement of the route is a ground for refusal if it is not met or not evidenced. Applications are refused when:

• The certificate of sponsorship details do not match the job, salary or occupation code claimed, or the CoS was assigned more than 3 months before the application.
• The occupation code is not on the Health and Care Worker list, or is a care worker code (6135 or 6136) used for a new application from overseas rather than an extension, update or switch.
• The employer is not the NHS, an NHS supplier or an adult social care provider approved as a sponsor, or a care employer in England is not registered with the Care Quality Commission.
• The salary is below £25,000 or the national pay-scale going rate, or below £31,300 or the lower going rate for the listed codes, and no reduced rate is evidenced.
• The job does not pay at least the minimum wage or does not follow UK working-hours rules. GOV.UK states the application will be refused in this case.
• English is not evidenced at the required level, or a regulator-accepted assessment is claimed but not held.
• Funds of £1,270 (plus dependant amounts) are not held for 28 consecutive days with day 28 within 31 days of applying, and the CoS does not certify maintenance.
• A criminal record certificate is missing for an application from outside the UK in a code that requires one.
• A tuberculosis test certificate is missing where the applicant is from a listed country.
• Documents are false, incomplete or not accompanied by a certified translation, or there are previous immigration breaches.

Start your healthcare career in the UK

Our immigration experts specialise in health and care worker visas. We'll guide you through the sponsorship and application stages.

Information sourced from GOV.UK (Health and Care Worker visa), last updated 29 April 2026, and the GOV.UK visa processing times guidance (applications outside the UK, 26 June 2026; applications inside the UK, 21 July 2025), reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rules change; we verify requirements at the point of instruction.