The Health & Care Worker visa is a discounted variant of the UK Skilled Worker route for staff working in the NHS, for NHS suppliers, in adult social care, and for organisations commissioning care on behalf of the NHS. It uses the same Certificate-of-Sponsorship system, the same SOC 2020 codes, and the same indefinite-leave-to-remain pathway as Skilled Worker — but with a lower salary floor, no Immigration Health Surcharge, and cheaper visa fees.
Who the route is for
The Health & Care Worker visa is open to overseas workers with a job offer in a defined list of SOC 2020 health and care occupations, from a UK-licensed sponsor. The most common eligible occupations are:
- SOC
2211— Medical practitioners - SOC
2231— Nurses - SOC
2232— Midwives - SOC
2235— Paramedics - SOC
2442— Social workers - SOC
3213— Paramedics (other clinical roles) - SOC
6135— Care workers and home carers - SOC
6136— Senior care workers
The full eligible list lives in Appendix Health and Care Worker of the Immigration Rules. The route is not open to administrative or non-clinical roles in healthcare organisations — those still need the standard Skilled Worker visa.
The discounts that make this route attractive
- Lower salary floor. The general minimum on this route in 2026 is around £25,600 — far below the standard Skilled Worker £41,700. The per-SOC going rate still applies, so higher-paid clinical roles still need to clear the going rate.
- Immigration Health Surcharge exemption. Both the main applicant and their dependants are exempt. Saves around £1,035 per person per year.
- Reduced visa application fee. Currently about £304 for a 3-year visa versus several times that on standard Skilled Worker.
- Faster processing. The Home Office targets three weeks for decisions on Health & Care Worker applications.
How to find a licensed Health & Care Worker sponsor
Two filters help most: which routes the sponsor is licensed for and whether they have an A or B rating. Both are visible in the GOV.UK Register of Licensed Sponsors and on this site — type a hospital trust, care provider, or GP practice name into the search box on the home page to confirm.
Common sponsor types on this route:
- NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts — typically A-rated, large CoS allocations, recruit nurses, midwives, doctors, paramedics, AHPs in volume.
- NHS-commissioned providers — ambulance services, mental-health trusts, hospices, community-care providers.
- Adult social-care providers — private care homes, domiciliary-care agencies, supported-living providers. Concentrated in SOC 6135/6136. This is where most recent licence revocations have happened — due diligence matters.
- GP practices and dental surgeries — smaller allocations, often sponsoring a single clinician at a time.
Due diligence: red flags when picking a care-sector sponsor
Since 2024 the Home Office and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have intensified joint enforcement on adult social-care sponsors. Workers who arrived under licences that were later revoked have been stranded without lawful work and have had to find a new sponsor within 60 days. Before accepting an offer:
- Check the official register today. If the sponsor is not currently listed for the Worker route you need, they cannot issue a valid Certificate of Sponsorship. Our search tool shows their current status.
- Check the CQC rating. Sponsors rated Inadequate or Requires Improvement are at higher risk of enforcement. Find the latest report at cqc.org.uk.
- Look for recent enforcement news. Search the sponsor name plus “Home Office”, “licence revoked”, or “sponsor licence suspended”.
- Ask about CoS limits. Reputable sponsors will tell you what their annual CoS allocation is and how it’s used. Sponsors recruiting overseas en masse with no domestic recruitment activity have historically attracted scrutiny.
- Verify the role exists. The Home Office’s single most common revocation reason in care is “sponsored worker recruited for a role that did not genuinely exist”.
Application process: what to expect
- The licensed sponsor issues you a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) — a digital reference number, not a paper document.
- You apply online for a Health & Care Worker visa, attach the CoS number, evidence English ability and savings (or the sponsor certifies maintenance), and pay the reduced fee.
- You attend a biometric appointment and submit supporting documents.
- The Home Office aims to decide within three weeks. On approval, your BRP (or eVisa, depending on cohort) and entry vignette are issued.
- After 3 years, you can extend or, on the standard route to settlement, apply for indefinite leave to remain after a further 2 years (5 years total).
Salary thresholds in numbers
How the Health & Care Worker floor works in practice on the most common SOC codes (2026 figures, rounded):
| SOC code | Role | Effective floor |
|---|---|---|
| 2211 | Medical practitioners | £84,700 (going rate wins) |
| 2231 | Nurses | £26,200 (going rate wins) |
| 2232 | Midwives | £28,100 (going rate) |
| 2235 | Paramedics | £36,000 (going rate) |
| 6135 | Care workers / home carers | £25,600 (general minimum) |
| 6136 | Senior care workers | £25,600 (general minimum) |
See our 2026 salary thresholds guide for how the two-floor logic works in detail.
Frequently asked questions
- Who qualifies for the Health & Care Worker visa?
- You qualify if you have a job offer from a UK Home Office–licensed sponsor in an eligible health or social-care occupation, your role has a four-digit SOC 2020 code on the Health & Care Worker list, you meet the reduced salary threshold, and you have the required English-language qualification. Eligible occupations include nurses, doctors, paramedics, social workers, senior care workers, and adult care workers (in certain settings).
- How does the Health & Care Worker visa differ from the standard Skilled Worker visa?
- Three differences matter day-to-day: (1) a lower salary floor for the same job, (2) the applicant and their dependants are exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge, and (3) the visa fee itself is reduced. Otherwise the application process, supporting documents, and visa rights are essentially identical to Skilled Worker.
- Can I switch from Health & Care Worker to standard Skilled Worker later?
- Yes. If you move to a job outside the eligible health/social-care SOC list but still on the Skilled Worker route, you switch by applying for a new visa with the new Certificate of Sponsorship. You keep your time toward Indefinite Leave to Remain.
- Why do some care providers lose their sponsor licence?
- The Home Office revokes licences for sponsors who fail compliance checks — for example, recruiting workers for roles that did not genuinely exist, paying below the offered salary, or failing to monitor sponsored workers. The care sector has seen a wave of revocations since 2024. Always check the official register and avoid sponsors with a recent enforcement history.
- Can my family come with me on a Health & Care Worker visa?
- Yes for most applicants who came on the route before March 2024. From 11 March 2024 the rules changed: care workers and senior care workers (SOC 6135 and 6136) joining new sponsors cannot bring dependants. Other Health & Care Worker occupations (nurses, doctors, paramedics, etc.) can still bring dependants. Check the latest rules — this area has changed multiple times.
Sources and further reading
- GOV.UK: Health and Care Worker visa
- Immigration Rules: Appendix Health and Care Worker
- Register of Licensed Sponsors (Workers)
- Care Quality Commission — ratings for adult social-care providers.