Health and Care Worker Visa: Everything You Need to Know

Overview of the Health and Care Worker Visa: Eligibility and Family Provisions

The Health and Care Worker Visa is a specialized route within the Skilled Worker Visa, designed for essential professionals in the healthcare and social care sectors. Open to qualified doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and social care workers, this visa offers a streamlined pathway for those in eligible roles. To qualify, applicants must be sponsored under the designated Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes listed below.

Your partner and children under 18 can usually apply to join you in the UK unless you are sponsored with the occupation code ‘6135 care workers and home carers’ or ‘senior care workers 6136’ after 11 March 2024. 

2. What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

To be eligible for the Health and Care Worker Visa, you will need to meet the following requirements:

• You are at least 18 years old at the date of application;
• You are a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or working in the adult social care sector;
• You are sponsored in an eligible occupation code;
• Your sponsor has a valid sponsor licence approved by the Home Office;
• You have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship;
• Your job meets the relevant salary threshold;
• You meet the English language requirement;
• You have sufficient funds without relying on public funds;
• You have a criminal record certificate, if applicable;
• You have a valid TB certificate, if applicable;

If your occupation code is ‘6135 care workers and home carers’ or ‘senior care workers 6136’, your sponsor must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

3. Which Occupations Are Eligible for the Health and Care Worker Visa?

To be eligible for this visa, your job must be in one of the following occupation codes:

• 1171: health services and public health managers and directors
• 1231: health care practice managers
• 1232: residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors
• 2113: biochemists and biomedical scientists
• 2114: physical scientists
• 2211: generalist medical practitioners
• 2212: specialist medical practitioners
• 2221: physiotherapists
• 2222: occupational therapists
• 2223: speech and language therapists
• 2224: psychotherapists and cognitive behaviour therapists
• 2225: clinical psychologists
• 2226: other psychologists
• 2229: therapy professionals not elsewhere classified
• 2231: midwifery nurses
• 2232: registered community nurses
• 2233: registered specialist nurses
• 2234: registered nurse practitioners
• 2235: registered mental health nurses
• 2236: registered children’s nurses
• 2237: other registered nursing professionals
• 2251: pharmacists
• 2252: optometrists
• 2253: dental practitioners
• 2254: medical radiographers
• 2255: paramedics
• 2256: podiatrists
• 2259: other health professionals not elsewhere classified
• 2461: social workers
• 3111: laboratory technicians
• 3211: dispensing opticians
• 3212: pharmaceutical technicians
• 3213: medical and dental technicians
• 3219: health associate professionals not elsewhere classified
• 6131: nursing auxiliaries and assistants
• 6132: ambulance staff (excluding paramedics)
• 6133: dental nurses
• 6135: care workers and home carers
• 6136: senior care workers

This is an exhaustive list. To qualify for a Health and Care Worker Visa, your job must be in one of the above occupations.  

If your role does not fall within the eligible occupation codes, you may wish to consider the Skilled Worker route if the requirements are met. 

To be eligible for this visa, you must have been offered a job from a sponsor who holds a valid sponsor licence and that could include the NHS Trusts, organisations providing regulated activities and registered with the CQC, organisations providing general medical services contracts or providing care services or organisations such as General Dental Council and General Chiropractic Council.

If they do not have a sponsor licence, they can apply for a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence. The application fee is £536 for a small business and charities or £1,476 for medium and large organisations. 

5. What Are the Salary Thresholds?

To meet the salary requirement, you must be paid at least £23,200 per year or the ‘going rate’ for the job, whichever is higher. 

If you are sponsored in one of the following roles, your must be paid at least the general threshold of £29,000 per year or the going rate for your role, whichever is higher:

• 1171: health services and public health managers and directors
• 1231: health care practice managers
• 1232: residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors
• 2113: biochemists and biomedical scientists
• 2114: physical scientists
• 3111: laboratory technicians
• 3211: dispensing opticians
• 3212: pharmaceutical technicians
• 6135: care workers and home carers
• 6136: senior care workers

There may be options to be paid less than £29,000 per year if one of the following criteria is met:

• You are a new entrant to the labour market at the start of your career;
• You have a PhD qualification in a relevant subject;
• You have a PhD qualification in a STEM subject;
• You are being sponsored for a job on the Immigration Salary List, as discussed in our article, UK Immigration Salary List 2025;

It is important that you are paid the correct salary using the correct occupation codes for the role that you are sponsored to do. We can assist you in your application for a Health and Care Worker Visa as well as advising the employers on sponsor licence application, management and compliance training.

6. How Can I Prove My English Language Proficiency?

Applicants must show English proficiency on the Common European Framework of Reference scale (CEFR) in all 4 components in reading, writing, speaking and listening to at least level B1. This can be achieved if: 

• You are a national of a majority English-speaking country; 
• Passing an approved English language test from an approved provider; 
• You have a degree taught in English and this is confirmed by Ecctis that it meets the recognised standard of a UK’s bachelor’s degree or master’s degree or PhD; 
• Obtained a GCSE/A Level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, Scottish Highers or Advanced Higher in English while at school in the UK;
• This requirement was met at the required level in your previous successful application for entry clearance or permission to stay;

You can also meet this requirement if you are being sponsored to work as a doctor, dentist, nurse, midwife or veterinarian, and have passed an English Language assessment accepted by the relevant regulated professional body.  

7. How Can I Meet the Financial Requirements for the Health and Care Worker Visa?

If you are applying from outside the UK, you will need to demonstrate that you have at least £1,270 and the funds have been held for at least a 28 day period. Applications for permission to stay in the UK where you have valid permission for 12 months or more, you will meet the financial requirement and will not need to show evidence of funds held. 

Alternatively, your sponsor can certify your maintenance by confirming this in the CoS. 

8. What Are the Benefits of Applying?

The advantages of the Health and Care Worker Visa route are that the applicants and dependants will pay the lower application fees and are exempt from Immigration Health Surcharge. The applications will also be fast-tracked with processing times aimed to be within 3 weeks of biometrics enrolment.

9. How Long Can I Stay on the Health and Care Worker Visa, and Can It Be Extended?

If your application is successful, you will be granted entry clearance or permission to stay for a period ending 14 days after the end date of your CoS. There is no restriction on the length of stay on this route and you can apply to extend your visa as long as the requirements are met.