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Health and Care Worker visa under Skilled Worker scheme

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Health and Care Worker visa index

Health and Care visa special Skilled Worker visa scheme

Following enormous pressure to encourage medical professionals to work in the UK, the Health and Care Worker visa scheme was introduced on 4 August 2020 under the Skilled Worker visa scheme.  The Health and Care Worker visa scheme is a faster and cheaper way for desperately needed medical staff to enter the UK.

Health and Care visa requirements

You need to meet the following requirements:

  • You are a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care profession
  • You have a job on the list of occupations below.
  • You will be sponsored by an employer that has a Skilled Worker sponsor licence
  • You will be paid the minimum salary or going rate for the job, whichever is higher.

Health and Care employer requirements

Not only must the employer be Skilled Worker visa sponsor they must also meet the following requirements:

An NHS organisation.

Or

Providing medical services to the NHS.

Or

Providing adult social care

Health and Care visa Jobs

Only certain jobs come under the Health and Care visa:

  • 1181: health services and public health managers and directors
  • 1242: residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors
  • 2112: biological scientists and biochemists
  • 2113: physical scientists
  • 2211: medical practitioners
  • 2212: psychologists
  • 2213: pharmacists
  • 2214: ophthalmic opticians
  • 2215: dental practitioners
  • 2217: medical radiographers
  • 2218: podiatrists
  • 2219: health professionals that are ‘not elsewhere classified’, such as audiologists and occupational health advisers
  • 2221: physiotherapists
  • 2222: occupational therapists
  • 2223: speech and language therapists
  • 2229: therapy professionals that are ‘not elsewhere classified’, such as osteopaths and psychotherapists
  • 2231: nurses
  • 2232: midwives
  • 2442: social workers
  • 3111: laboratory technicians
  • 3213: paramedics
  • 3216: dispensing opticians
  • 3217: pharmaceutical technicians
  • 3218: medical and dental technicians
  • 3219: health associate professionals not elsewhere classified
  • 6141: nursing auxiliaries and assistants
  • 6143: dental nurses
  • 6145: care workers and home carers
  • 6146: senior care workers

 

Salary Requirements:

Usually, the salary rate needs to be at least £20,960 per annum or £10.75 per hour, or the going rate, whichever is higher.  

You can be paid less in certain circumstances:

You can be paid between 70% and 90% of the usual going rate if the salary is at least £20,480 per year and you meet the following requirements:

  • If your job is in a shortage occupation you can be paid 80% of the job’s usual going rate.
  • you’re under 26, studying or a recent graduate, or in professional training you can be paid 70% of the going rate.
  • you have a science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) PhD level qualification that’s relevant to your job you can be paid 80% of the going rate.  If you have a relevant PhD level qualification in any other subject your salary must be at least £23,580.
  • you have a postdoctoral position in a scientific role

English Language Requirements

You meet the English requirements if you are a doctor, dentist, nurse or midwife with an English Language assessment that is accepted by the relevant regulated professional body.

You will need to read, write, speak and understand English at least at B1 level.  You will need to meet one of the following requirements to meet the English language requirements:

  • You will need to pass a Secure English Language Test (SELT) for an approved provider.
  • You have GCSE, A level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English, by studying at a UK school which you started studying before you were 18 years of age.
  • If you have a degree and it was obtained from overseas you will need to have confirmation from Ecctis, formerly UK NARIC, that the degree is equivalent to an UK degree.

You do not need to show evidence of English language ability if you are a national of one of the following countries:

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Australia
  • the Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Canada
  • Dominica
  • Grenada
  • Guyana
  • Jamaica
  • Malta
  • New Zealand
  • St Kitts and Nevis
  • St Lucia
  • St Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • USA

Health and Care visa fee

One advantage of the Health and Care visa is that visa fees are far lower than the usual Skilled Worker visa fees with the following fees needing to be paid.

  • up to 3 years - £247 per person
  • longer than three years  - £479 per person

As you can usually apply for indefinite leave to remain at the end of five years many people will apply for entry for five years at the cost of £479 per person for the applicant and each family member.

You will also need to either have your employer certify maintenance or that you have had funds of £1,270 in your bank account for at least 28 days in a row.  This is not necessary if you have already been in the UK for the last twelve months.

If your employer does not certify maintenance, you will need to have had at least £1,270 available for at least 28 days in a row. Day 28 must be within 31 days of applying for this visa.

Family of Health and Care Worker visa migrants

It is usually quite straightforward for partners and children to apply for entry or to stay, for the same period as the Health and Care Worker visa migrant under the Skilled Worker visa scheme.  

Your dependant partner or child needs to meet the following requirements:

  • Husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner
  • Child under 18 - If you are in the UK this includes children born in the UK
  • Child over 18 if already in the UK as your dependant

You will need to provide evidence of the relationship.   

For Chidren 16 years or over the following requirements also need to be met:

  • Usually, live with you.  The exception is if in full-time education at boarding school, college or university.
  • Not be married, in a civil partnership or have any children
  • Financially supported by you

If you need to prove that your child lives with you, documents that can be provided include the following:

  • bank statement
  • credit card bills
  • driving licence
  • NHS registration document
  • an official letter from the child's university or college

Probably many employers will guarantee maintenance, so meeting the financial requirements.

Further information, help, and advice

Workpermit.com's team of specialists has over thirty years of experience in international visa services, and have helped thousands of people to study and work in the UK. We work in conjunction with OISC registered advisers who can submit your UK sponsor licence application and visa application to UK Visas and Immigration at the Home Office. 

For more information and advice on UK immigration law and UK visa applications please contact us on 0344 991 9222 or at london@workpermit.com