Process

To get a Health and Care Worker Visa you will need to submit your application to the UK Home Office from your country of legal residence. The application will need to be sponsored from your employer who must be a UK Sponsor Licence holding organisation. Most NHS Trusts will hold a Sponsorship Licence, as do many – but not all – GP Surgeries in the UK. Various umbrella sponsors operate across the UK in this sector with each of the devolved nations having Health Education Sponsors for their NHS services.

Supporting evidence may be required to evidence relationships with dependants who may also be applying, English language knowledge and tuberculosis (TB) tests are also requirements from some countries.

Once visa applications are submitted most applicants will be required to book an appointment to enrol biometric details, following which, and if successful, you will be issued a vignette in your passport to travel to the UK. A full visa in the form of a BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) card will be available for some upon arrival in the UK.

EEA national applicants may be able to verify identity through the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app. If this process is followed, an email confirming approval of the application will be received and travel to the UK can be on this basis.

Costs

The UK Home Office regularly changes visa application fees, however at present application fees for a Health and Care Worker Visa (or a visa as a dependant of a health and care worker) are £247 for up to 3 years and £479 for over 3 years. The length of your visa will depend on the length of sponsorship issued to you by your prospective employer. You must check the Home Office website for up-to-date visa application fees.

Timeframe

Once a visa is issued to you this will be your permission to work. Most applications take 4-6 weeks to proceed once an application is submitted, however this can vary and there are often delays to processing.

Other Applications

Applications under different routes will vary from visa category to visa category. Applications for most visa types that allow you to work in the UK will require an application to be filed to the UK Home Office. If you are not sponsored by an employing organisation, you may be able to apply for a visa via one of the UK’s family routes for which you will need to evidence your relationship with a British or other relevant person.

Do I need a visa to undertake PLAB II?

You can come to the UK as a visitor to undertake this course. For some nationals this will require a visa application.

I have been offered a place on the foundation programme, what visa do I apply for?

For most doctors this will be a Health and Care Worker Visa (i.e. a Skilled Worker visa). However, depending on your personal circumstances there are other visa categories you can explore, such as a family visa.

I have been offered a place on a specialty training programme, what visa do I apply for?

For most doctors this will be a Health and Care Worker Visa (i.e. a Skilled Worker visa). However, depending on your personal circumstances there are other visa categories you can explore, such as a family visa.

I have been offered a place on general practice training programme, what visa do I apply for?

For most doctors this will be a Health and Care Worker Visa (i.e. a Skilled Worker visa). However, depending on your personal circumstances there are other visa categories you can explore, such as a family visa.

I have been offered a place on the MTI (Medical Training Initiative) scheme, what visa do I need to apply for?

If you have been granted a place on the MTI scheme, you will need to apply for a Tier 5 (Temporary Worker) Visa. The duration of this visa is up to 24 months at which point, and on completion of the scheme you should return to your country of origin.

Can I bring my family to the UK?

For health and care worker visa holders, you can apply for your family to join you as dependants. You will need to provide evidence of your relationship to your family members as part of the application. Whilst most UK visa categories provide avenues for dependant applications, please note that some categories of visa require applicants to apply as individuals. This includes visitor visas.

Grandparents and in most cases, parents will not ordinarily qualify as the immediate dependants for applicants under the UK Immigration Rules. Once you are settled in the UK – i.e. have indefinite leave to remain or British nationality – there are limited options for supporting your Adult Dependant Relatives in coming to the UK with the exception where family members face particular difficulty in getting care in their country of origin.

Dependent relatives of EEA citizens (or of their spouse or civil partner) in the UK may be able to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme for pre-settled status or settled status - i.e. Dependent parents of EEA citizens, where the parents are outside of the UK can apply for EUSS Family permits. A ‘dependent parent’ is defined in Appendix EU.

My partner already works in the UK, can I join them?

Depending on your partner’s current visa permission you should be able to apply as their dependant to join them. There are limited scenarios where their visa permission would not lead to your ability to join as their dependant – such as where they are in the UK as a visitor. In this scenario you can still apply independently for the same type of status.

Do I have to pay to access the NHS?

For health and care visa workers and their dependants the NHS Surcharge fee is not applicable. For those visa applicants who are issued permission to enter the UK in other categories, the NHS Surcharge does apply and is set at a rate of £624 for adults and £470 for children per year of visa applied for.

How do I settle in the UK?

There are a number of avenues to settlement in the UK. For health and care worker visa holders and their dependants this is a 5-year route. Applicants under the current rules will be required to submit an application to the Home Office once they have resided in the UK for 5 continuous years under eligibility criteria, such as undertaking the knowledge of Life in the UK Test and any suitability requirements that may apply.

Whilst the majority of routes to settlement in the UK take 5-years, there are some visa categories that do not count towards this 5-year period – such as Student and Graduate visa permissions. Individuals who have lived in the UK for 10 years continuously under a combination of any visa permissions – other than visitor visas – may also be eligible for Settlement based on the Long Residency rules.

Can the BMA support me through the visa application process?

Immigration Advisory Service

The BMA, in conjunction with our colleagues at Magrath Sheldrick LLP, provide an immigration advisory service for legal questions that you may have relating to your visa application. Details on how to use this service will be shared with you, as part of your onboarding to become an affiliate member.

The Immigration Advice Service is on hand not only to answer questions relating to your initial application for the UK but will also be available to advise you on visa applications you may make throughout your time in the UK.

Once I am issued a visa what do I need to do to prepare for arrival in the UK?

Applicants who are successful in being issued a visa will be able to enter the UK for the purpose identified in the visa application – for example a student visa holder will be able to study at their sponsoring institution and a health and care visa holder will be able to work at their employer organisation.

Once you have arrived in the UK you will need to provide evidence of your status for various activities and services. To access these, you will need to consider the following:

• On or before your first day, your organisation will need to check your permission to work or study. For workers this is a Legal Right to Work Check.
• To open up a bank account, you may need to provide your bank with evidence of your right to open up the account – this will be your visa document showing evidence of your status.
• To rent a property, your landlord will also need to check your permission to be in the UK.

Disclaimer

The Home Office regularly change the immigration rules. The information above is accurate at the time of writing, however, it may be subject to change. We strongly recommend therefore that you regularly check the UK Home Office website.