Health and care worker visa

Health and Care worker visa for UK- all you need to know

Formerly known as Tier 2 visa, Health and Care worker visa allows medical professionals to stay and work in the UK in an eligible job in the NHS.

Who is eligible for this visa?

• A qualified doctor/nurse/other health professional
• With a job offer in an eligible health care
• From a Home Office approved UK employer
• Who has issued a CoS(Certificate of Sponsorship)
• With a minimum salary as per the nature of work(as specified)

What is allowed and what is not allowed?

With this visa, you can:

• Work in an eligible job
• Do voluntary work
• Study
• Bring your dependants with you( spouse and children- parents are not considered as dependants)
• Apply for ILR after 5 years of stay in the UK
• You cannot though:
• Apply for benefits
• Change job without changing visa

How much does it cost?

The fee remains the same whether you apply for the visa from within the UK or from outside but depends on the duration of stay:

• Up to 3 years= £232 per person
• > 3 years= £464 per person

You also must factor in the money you need to support yourself in the UK till you get your first salary- at least £1270- and you will need to show proof of this at the time of application.

If your employer shows willingness to support you instead in the COS, you can be exempted.

What documents are needed?

In order to apply for this visa, the following documents are needed:

• Your CoS including

– reference number- provided by the employer

– name of employer & license number

– job title, salary, occupation code

• P̶r̶o̶o̶f̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶l̶e̶d̶g̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶E̶n̶g̶l̶i̶s̶h̶ (Doctors are exempted if they have already passed IELTS/OET accepted by the GMC)
• Valid passport

Additional documents:

• Bank statements to prove you have enough savings to support yourself(exempted if employer shows willingness to support in CoS)

TB clearance certificate (if from listed countries)

Criminal record certificate/ police verification certificate

Can you take on additional work on this visa?

You can do additional work while on this visa as long as your primary job is with the employer sponsoring your visa.

It can be voluntary work or work up to 20 hours a week in a job:

• In the same occupation code/level as your main job e.g doing locums
• In other shortage occupations

If you wish to work >20 hours a week in another job, you will need to update your visa and get another CoS to be sponsored to do both jobs.