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.
Eligibility
Your job
To qualify for a Health and Care Worker visa, 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 that’s been approved by the Home Office
- have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer with information about the role you’ve been offered in the UK
- be paid a minimum salary – how much depends on the type of work you do
If you’re a care worker or senior care worker working in England, your employer must also be registered with the Care Quality Commission.
How long you can stay
Your visa can last for up to 5 years before you need to extend it. You’ll need to apply to extend or update your visa when it expires or if you change jobs or employer.
If you want to stay longer in the UK
You can apply to extend your visa as many times as you like as long as you still meet the eligibility requirements.
After 5 years, you may be able to apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’). This gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible.
Your partner and children
Your partner and children can apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.
If your partner or child’s application is successful, their visa will usually end on the same date as yours. If a child’s parents have visas with different expiry dates, the child’s visa will end on an earlier date.
A dependent partner or child is any of the following:
- your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner
- your child under 18 – including if they were born in the UK during your stay
- your child over 18 if they’re currently in the UK as your dependant
You’ll need to provide evidence of your relationship with your dependent when you apply.
If you’re the first person in your family to apply, you can get a ‘family linking code’ to connect your applications together. Your family members can enter the same code when they apply.
Extend your Visa
You can usually apply to extend your Health and Care Worker visa if all of the following are true:
- you have the same job as when you were given your previous permission to enter or stay in the UK
- your job is in the same occupation code as when you were given your previous permission to enter or stay in the UK
- you’re still working for the employer who gave you your current certificate of sponsorship
- you still meet the salary requirements
You must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Your application will be withdrawn if you do.
Your partner and children
Your partner or child’s visa will not automatically extend if you extend yours. If they do not extend their visa, it will be valid until its original end date.
They can either apply at the same time as you or before their current visa expires.
If you’re a care worker or senior care worker, your partner and children may not be able to stay in the UK as your dependants when you extend your visa.
If you’re a care worker or senior care worker
Your partner and children cannot apply to join you or stay in the UK as your dependants unless you were employed as a care worker or senior care worker in the UK and on a Health and Care Worker visa before 11 March 2024 and one of the following is true:
- you’re currently still on a Health and Care Worker visa
- you’re extending your Health and Care Worker visa with your current employer
- you’re changing to a new job within the same occupation code while on a Health and Care Worker visa
Update your visa if you change job or employer
You’ll need to apply to update your Health and Care Worker visa if:
- you want to change your job and your new job is with a different employer
- your job changes to a different occupation code, and you’re not in a graduate training programme
- you leave a job that’s on the immigration salary list for a job that is not on the list
The same conditions apply to Tier 2 Health and Care visas issued before 1 December 2020.
You do not need to apply again if you stay in the same job, but your job is taken off the immigration salary list.
If you’ll be doing a different job for your current employer, you only need to update your visa if your new job is in a different occupation code.
If you’re a care worker or senior care worker
If you change your employer and you’re working in England, your new employer must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.
Your Partner and children
Your partner or child’s visa will not automatically extend if you extend yours. If they do not extend their visa, it will be valid until its original end date.
They can either apply at the same time as you or before their current visa expires.
If you’re a care worker or senior care worker, your partner and children may not be able to stay in the UK as your dependants when you extend your visa.
If you’re a care worker or senior care worker
Your partner and children cannot apply to join you or stay in the UK as your dependants unless you were employed as a care worker or senior care worker in the UK and on a Health and Care Worker visa before 11 March 2024 and one of the following is true:
- you’re currently still on a Health and Care Worker visa
- you’re extending your Health and Care Worker visa with your current employer
- you’re changing to a new job within the same occupation code while on a Health and Care Worker visa
Switch to a Health and Care Worker Visa
You might be able to apply to change (‘switch’) to a Health and Care Worker visa if you’re already in the UK on a different type of visa.
You must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Your application will be withdrawn if you do.
Your partner and children
Your partner or child’s visa will not automatically switch to this visa if you switch yours. If they do not switch their visa, it will be valid until its original end date.
They can either apply at the same time as you, or at any time before their current visa expires.
If you’re switching to this visa as a care worker or senior care worker, your partner or children will not be able to switch as your dependants to this visa.
Eligibility
You must meet the following requirements:
- your job meets the eligibility requirements
- you can speak, read, write and understand English
If you’re currently in the UK on a Student visa, you must also meet one of the following requirements:
- you have completed the course you were sponsored to study
- your job start date is after your course has finished
- you have studied for a PhD for at least 24 months
Who cannot apply to switch to this visa
You cannot apply to switch to this visa if you’re currently in the UK:
- on a visit visa
- on a short-term student visa
- on a Parent of a Child Student visa
- on a seasonal worker visa
- on a domestic worker in a private household visa
- on immigration bail
- because you were given permission to stay outside the immigration rules, for example on compassionate grounds
You must leave the UK and apply for a Health and Care Worker visa from abroad if you’re in one of these categories.
How long you can stay
You can stay in the UK for as long as your employer is sponsoring you for, up to 5 years at a time. Your certificate of sponsorship will say how long your employer is sponsoring you for.
How long it take to get a decision
You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work in the UK. This date is listed on your certificate of sponsorship.
As part of your application, you’ll need to prove your identity and provide your documents.
You may need to allow extra time if you need an appointment to do this. You’ll find out if you need one when you start your application.
Getting a decision
Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks.
You may be able to pay to get a faster decision.
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