Caregivers

The Health and Care visa is for overseas workers with specialist skills to come to the UK to work for licensed employers in eligible roles. The visa is open to specific healthcare professionals including doctors, registered nurses, caregivers, midwives, as well as adult social care workers.

The visa is designed to help address the skills crisis within the UK healthcare sector, by offering an attractive route for foreign nationals to come to the UK for work and to be joined by close family members, potentially settling in the UK permanently.

Successful applicants can work in the UK for a period of up to five years and can apply to extend their visa as many times as they like, provided they remain eligible.

Health and Care visa holders can also become eligible to apply for UK indefinite leave to remain after five years. With ILR status, you are no longer subject to UK immigration control, and you are no longer restricted by visa sponsorship rules, meaning you can change employers and jobs without the need to apply for additional visas.

Who is eligible for the Health and Care visa?

Qualified doctors, nurses, caregivers, midwives, health professionals and adult social care professionals are eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa.

It is open to individuals applying under the skilled worker route for entry clearance or leave to remain who will be taking up a job offer in one of the occupations specified within a prescribed list of Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes.