Health and Care Worker visa (2024)

You must meet all of the following requirements to be eligible for a Health and Care Worker visa:

  • you’re a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional
  • your job is eligible for this visa
  • you’ll be working for a UK health and care sector employer that’s been approved by the Home Office
  • you’ll be paid the minimum salary or the ‘going rate’ for the type of work you’ll be doing - whichever is higher

Your employer must make sure your job pays at least the minimum wage and follows the UK rules for how many hours a week you work. If your employer does not do this, your application will be refused.

Check if your job is eligible

Before you can find out if your job is eligible, you need to know its 4-digit occupation code.

If you already have a job offer, ask your employer for your occupation code.

Look up your job’s occupation code

If you do not know your code, you can search for your job in the CASCOT occupation coding tool.

Not every job title is included. If you cannot find your exact job title, try searching for similar jobs.

Make sure the job description matches what you’ll be doing. Some jobs in the same area of practice have different codes, for example dentists and dental hygiene therapists.

Check if an occupation code is eligible for this visa

Your job must be in one of the following occupation codes to qualify for the Health and Care Worker visa:

  • 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

Approved UK health and care sector employers

You must have a job offer from an approved UK employer 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

Read the guidance to see a full list of eligible employers.

If your employer is not currently approved, they can apply for a sponsor licence if they’re eligible.

They’ll need to pay a fee - £536 for small businesses and charities or £1,476 for medium and large organisations. It usually takes around 8 weeks to process a licence application.

If you’re a care worker or senior care worker

Your employer must be registered with the Care Quality Commission if you’re a care worker (code 6135) or senior care worker (code 6136) working in England.

Check if your employer is registered with the Care Quality Commission.

If you already have a job offer from an approved employer

Your employer - also known as your sponsor - will check that you meet the eligibility requirements. They’ll give you a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ to prove this.

The certificate of sponsorship is an electronic record, not a physical document. It will have a reference number, which you’ll need for your visa application.

You must apply for your visa within 3 months of getting your certificate of sponsorship.

Check which documents you’ll need to apply.

Salary requirements

You’ll usually need to be paid at least £23,200.

If the ‘going rate’ for your job is higher than £23,200, you’ll usually need to be paid at least the going rate.

Each occupation code has its own annual going rate. How you find the going rate depends on your job.

When you need to meet different salary requirements

You’ll need to meet different salary requirements for this visa if your job is in one of the 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
  • 3111: laboratory technicians
  • 3211: dispensing opticians
  • 3212: pharmaceutical technicians
  • 6135: care workers and home carers
  • 6136: senior care workers

Find out the going rate if your job is in one of these occupation codes - including when your employer can pay you less.

If you’re doing any other health and care job

Check how much you need to be paid in the table of national pay scales for eligible healthcare jobs.

Salaries are listed by NHS pay band and area of the UK you’ll be working in. Ask your employer if you’re not sure what your role or pay band will be.

Health and Care Worker visa (2024)
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