You can apply for switching into Health and Care Worker visa from inside the UK if you are already in the UK under a visa category which allows you to switch your immigration status to Health and Care Worker visa category. You must meet all the relevant requirements as set out in Appendix Skilled Worker, Appendix Skilled Occupations and Appendix Shortage Occupations List to succeed in your application for switching into Health and Care Worker visa. For switching into Health and Care Worker visa, you must be sponsored by NHS, an NHS supplier or a care home to do an eligible job in the UK. Those applying for the Health and Care visa are exempt from having to pay the Immigration Health Charge and have lower visa application fees.
Health and Care Visa applicants will pay the reduced application fees. The visa fee reduction applies to partners and dependants of Health and Care Visa applicants. In addition to the reduced visa fee, applicants applying for the Health and Care Visa, and their family are exempt from having to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
The Home Office UKVI will prioritise Health and Care Visa applications, with the aim that the vast majority are processed within three weeks from the point the applicant has provided their biometric information. There is dedicated support available, enabling Health and Care Visa sponsors to contact UKVI’s specialist team if they have any issues with the application process or eligibility for the health and Care Visa. Sponsors can contact UKVI’s dedicated NHS team at the following email address:
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Our expert team of Health and Care Worker visa solicitors are specialists in applications for switching into Health and Care Worker visa from inside the UK. As one of the best Health and Care Worker visa solicitors in London, our Health and Care Worker visa solicitors have wealth of knowledge and experience to provide high quality fixed fee legal services for switching into Health and Care Worker visa from inside the UK.
Free Immigration Advice For Health and Care Worker Visa
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide one-off free immigration advice online in relation to your application for switching into health and care worker visa UK. Ask a question online to our specialist team of immigration solicitors for free immigration advice online or book an appointment online for a detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our immigration solicitors concerning your application for switching into health and care worker visa UK.
No Dependants For Care Workers Under The New Immigration Laws
In a recent statement made in December 2023 by the Home Secretary James Cleverly, it has been stated that the UK Government will soon publish new statement of changes to the UK Immigration Rules to block dependants of care workers.
Eligibility Requirements For Switching Into Health and Care Worker Visa
To be eligible for switching into Health and Care Worker visa from inside the UK, you need to:
- be in the UK with leave to enter or remain from which switching into Health and Care Worker visa is permitted by the Immigration Rules;
- score 50 points from mandatory non-tradable points;
- score at least 20 points from tradable points;
- have funds for maintenance in the UK or your Health and Care Worker sponsor has certified your maintenance as per requirements of the Immigration Rules;
- meet the suitability criteria and not fall for refusal under the general grounds for refusal.
The employer is required to include a brief explanation in the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) setting out how the employee meets the Health and Care Visa eligibility requirement. The employer will also be responsible for informing the applicant they are eligible for the Health and Care Visa so the applicant can correctly complete the visa application form. Where an employer is an organisation that provides services commissioned by the NHS, evidence of the contract arrangements with the NHS may need to be provided to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) as proof that applicants are eligible to apply for a Health and Care Visa.
Eligible Occupation Codes For Health and Care Worker Visa
Your job must be in one of the following occupation codes to qualify for the Health and Care Worker 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
- 6146: senior care workers
Approved UK Health and Care Sector Employers
You must have a job offer from an approved UK employer holding sponsor licence before you apply for a Health and Care Worker visa. Approved employers are also known as sponsors, because they are sponsoring you to come to or stay in the UK.
You must have a job offer from:
- the NHS
- an organisation providing medical services to the NHS
- an organisation providing adult social care
If your employer is not currently approved, they can apply for a sponsor licence if they are eligible. Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can help your employer with an application for Health and Care Worker Sponsor Licence.
Mandatory Non-Tradable Points (50 Points Required)
The applicant must score 50 mandatory non-tradable points to succeed in an application for switching into Health and Care Worker visa and the remaining 20 can be scored from tradable points. The mandatory non-tradable points are given in the table below:
Tradeable Points For Switching Into Health and Care Worker Visa (20 Points Required)
An applicant must be awarded 20 tradeable points from the table below. An applicant may only be awarded 20 points from one entry in the table.
| Option | Requirements To Score Points | Points |
| A |
The applicant’s salary equals or exceeds all of the following: |
20 |
| B |
Educational qualification: PhD in a subject relevant to the job and the applicant’s salary equals or exceeds all of the following: In this entry, 10 points will be awarded for the educational qualification and 10 points will be awarded for the applicant’s salary. |
20 |
| C |
Educational qualification: PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job and the applicant’s salary equals or exceeds all of the following: |
20 |
| D |
Job in a shortage occupation and the applicant’s salary equals or exceeds all of the following: |
20 |
| E |
Applicant is a new entrant to the labour market and their salary equals or exceeds all of the following: |
20 |
| F |
Job in a listed health or education occupation and the applicant’s salary equals or exceeds both: |
20 |
Salary Requirements
Your employer with sponsor licence need to pay you a salary of at least £20,960 per year unless the ‘going rate’ for your job is higher than this. Each occupation code has its own annual going rate. How you find the going rate depends on your job and occupation code. Salaries are listed by NHS pay band and area of the UK you’ll be working in.
Who Cannot Switch Into Health and Care Worker Visa From Inside The UK?
You cannot apply to switch to Health and Care Worker visa from inside the UK if you are 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.
Requirements For Students Switching Into Health and Care Worker Visa
According to changes to the Immigration Rules introduced on 17 July 2023, a student switching into health and care worker visa from inside the UK must fulfil one of the Conditions A, B or C below on the date of application:
Condition A:
- the applicant must have completed the course of study for which the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned (or a course to which ST 27.3 of Appendix Student applies); or
Condition B:
- the applicant must be studying a full-time course of study at degree level or above with a higher education provider which has a track record of compliance; and
- the Certificate of Sponsorship must have a start date no earlier than the course completion date; or
Condition C:
- the applicant must be studying a full-time course of study leading to the award of a PhD with a higher education provider which has a track record of compliance; and
- the Certificate of Sponsorship must have a start date no earlier than 24 months after the start date of that course.
Financial Requirement (Mandatory) For A Skilled Worker
- If the applicant is applying for permission to stay and has been in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer on the date of application, they will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show funds.
- If the applicant is applying for permission to stay and has been in the UK for less than 12 months on the date of application, either:
- the applicant must have funds of at least £1,270 and the the applicant must show that they have held the required funds for a 28-day period and as specified in Appendix Finance; or
- the applicant’s A-rated sponsor must certify that they will, if necessary, maintain and accommodate the applicant up to the end of the first month of their employment, to an amount of at least £1,270.
Period and Conditions of Grant For Health and Care Worker Visa
- The applicant will be granted leave to remain as a Health and Care Worker until 14 days after the end date of their certificate of sponsorship (which may be up to a maximum of 5 years after the start date of their certificate of sponsorship).
- The grant will be subject to all the following conditions:
- no access to public funds; and
- work is permitted only in the job the applicant is being sponsored for; and
- supplementary employment is permitted, providing the person continues to work in the job for which they are being sponsored; and
- voluntary work is permitted; and
- working out a contractual notice period is permitted, for a job the applicant was lawfully working in on the date of application; and
- study is permitted, subject to the ATAS condition in Appendix ATAS; and
- if Part 10 applies, the applicant will be required to register with the police.
Super Priority Service (Decision Within 24 Hours) For Switching Into Health and Care Worker Visa
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide fast-track visa service to get you a decision on your application faster under the Priority Service or Super Priority service. This way, you will get a decision on your application faster and will not have to wait for a decision on your application for months (sometimes years).
Our fast track immigration solicitors can prepare your application faster and submit your application under the Priority Service or Super Priority Service to get you faster decision on your application.
As specialist immigration solicitors in London, we are registered with the Home Office, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) and its commercial partners UKVCAS Sopra Steria to provide Priority Service or Super Priority Service for your application whereby decision on your application will be made by the Home Office UKVI faster. An application submitted through Priority Service is normally decided within 5 working days, and an application submitted through Super Priority Service is normally decided within 24 hours (usually by the end of the next working day).
One-Off Service For Submission Of Your Application Through Super Priority Service
Our specialist team of fast-track immigration solicitors can provide a one-off service to submit your completed UK visa and immigration application through Priority / Super Priority Service so that you get a decision on your UK visa and immigration application faster. We will submit your application through Priority / Super Priority Service on the basis of no submission no fee which means if we fail to submit your application through Priority / Super Priority Service within 48 hours of fees being paid to us, we will issue the full refund of the fees paid to us, without any deductions.
We will act for you under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), under which we will issue a full refund of the fees paid to us, without any deductions if we fail to submit your application through Priority / Super Priority Service within 48 hours of payment being made to us.
If we successfully submit your application through Priority / Super Priority Service within 48 hours of payment being made to us, we will charge a fixed fee of £250 + VAT (£300 including VAT) on the basis of a conditional fee agreement (CFA) signed between you and us.
How Can We Help?
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on a fixed fee basis in relation to your application. Our fixed fee for your immigration application will cover all the work of our immigration solicitors on your immigration application until a decision is made by the Home Office UKVI on your application. The casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors in relation to your immigration application will entail the following:
- Advice on requirements: Our immigration solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you have to meet for your immigration application to succeed.
- Advice on documents: Our immigration lawyers will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to be submitted in support of your immigration application;
- Assessment of documents: Our immigration lawyers will assess your documents to ensure that all the documents you provide in support of your application comply with the requirements of the immigration rules.
- Completing application form: Our immigration lawyers will complete the relevant application form for your immigration application.
- Submitting an application through Priority or Super Priority Service: Where possible, our immigration lawyers will submit your online immigration application through priority or super-priority service to get a faster decision on your immigration application.
- Booking an appointment with the application centre: After you submit your immigration application online, our immigration lawyers will book an appointment with the application centre for you to enrol your biometrics.
- Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist immigration solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of the immigration application to explain all the relevant legal requirements and how the applicant has satisfied such requirements with the documents submitted with the application.
- Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrollment date, our immigration lawyers will upload all the supporting documents online to be considered in support of the immigration application.
- Follow-up work: Our immigration lawyers will carry out all the follow-up work until the Home Office UKVI decides on the immigration application.
Our One-Off Services For Immigration Applications
Our immigration solicitors can also provide a wide range of one-off legal services for UK visa and immigration applications. Using our one-off services can help those who do not want to use our full service for immigration applications. You can use one of the following one-off legal services offered for UK visa and immigration applications:
Our Fixed Fees For Health and Care Worker Visa Applications
Our fixed fees for employer-sponsored work visas are as given in the fee table below:
| Our Service | Our Fixed Fees Range |
| Full service for Entry Clearance for employer-sponsored work visas to cover all the work until a decision by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) | From £700 To £1,200 (no VAT) |
| Full service for switching into employer sponsored work visa from inside the UK through Priority or Super Priority Service to cover our work until a decision on your application | From £700 To £1,200 (no VAT) |
| Full service for extension of employer-sponsored work visa from inside the UK through Priority or Super Priority Service to cover our work until a decision on your application | From £700 To £1,200 (no VAT) |
| Full service for ILR as an employer-sponsored worker from inside the UK through Priority or Super Priority Service to cover our work until a decision on your ILR application | From £700 To £1,200 (no VAT) |
The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the application and the volume of casework involved. In addition to our fixed fee, the applicant also has to pay the Home Office UKVI fees for the application.