The Health and Care Worker visa is the UK nursing visa. It lets registered nurses and midwives work in the UK for an employer that the Home Office has approved as a sponsor. It costs £324 for up to 3 years or £628 for more than 3 years, you and your family do not pay the immigration health surcharge, and you usually need a salary of at least £25,000 or the NHS band rate for your job, whichever is higher. All figures were checked on GOV.UK in October 2026.
This guide covers who qualifies, the salary rules, the costs, English, family, extending the visa, and how it differs from the Skilled Worker visa. Immigration rules change often, so confirm the details on GOV.UK before you apply. This is general information, not legal advice.
Who can get the Health and Care Worker visa
GOV.UK says the visa is for qualified doctors, nurses, health professionals and adult social care professionals who will work for the NHS, an NHS supplier or in adult social care (GOV.UK). To get it, you need:
- A confirmed job offer from a UK employer approved by the Home Office. Check the employer on the register of licensed sponsors.
- A certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from that employer. It is an electronic record with a reference number, not a paper document. You must apply for your visa within 3 months of getting it (GOV.UK).
- An eligible job (see the occupation codes below).
- The right salary.
- English at level B2.
To work as a registered nurse you must also be on the NMC register, or be working towards it under your employer’s arrangements. Our guide to becoming a registered nurse in the UK covers the NMC steps, and the NMC OSCE explains the practical exam.
UK nurse visa codes (occupation codes)
Every job under the visa has an occupation code. The eligible nursing codes are (GOV.UK):
| Code | Job |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| 6131 | Nursing auxiliaries and assistants |
Dental nurses (6133) can only use the visa to extend or update an existing visa, and only if their certificate of sponsorship was issued before 22 July 2025. Care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136) can no longer make a first application on this visa; they can only extend, update or switch.
Health and Care Worker visa salary threshold
GOV.UK says you will usually need to be paid at least £25,000 a year. If the “going rate” for your job is higher, you must usually be paid at least the going rate (GOV.UK).
For nurses, the going rate comes from the Home Office’s table of national pay scales, by NHS band and UK nation. It was last updated on 22 July 2025 and is based on 2024/25 pay scales for a 37.5-hour week (37 hours in Scotland) (GOV.UK pay scales table):
| NHS band | England | Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 5 | £29,970 | £31,892 | £30,420 | £28,407 |
| Band 6 | £37,338 | £39,912 | £37,898 | £35,392 |
| Band 7 | £46,148 | £48,788 | £46,840 | £43,742 |
If you work part-time, the figures are pro-rated. In practice, NHS pay is already above these minimums: from 1 April 2026, a band 5 nurse in England starts at £32,073 (NHS Employers). See nurse salary by country for how UK pay compares abroad.
Health and Care Worker visa cost
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Visa fee, up to 3 years | £324 per person |
| Visa fee, more than 3 years | £628 per person |
| Immigration health surcharge | £0 |
| Savings you must show (main applicant) | £1,270, held for 28 days in a row |
Sources: GOV.UK fees, GOV.UK surcharge.
The fee is the same from inside or outside the UK. You do not need to show the £1,270 savings if your employer certifies your maintenance on your certificate of sponsorship (in the “sponsor certifies maintenance” section). The 28-day period must end within 31 days of your application.
Health and care workers eligible for this visa, and their dependants, are listed by GOV.UK under “who does not need to pay” the immigration health surcharge.
Fees the employer pays, not you
GOV.UK says the certificate of sponsorship fee and the immigration skills charge are fees the employer must pay, not you, and that an agency should never ask you to pay a fee for finding you work in the UK (GOV.UK). Read ethical nurse recruitment and scams before you deal with any agent.
Health and Care Worker visa vs Skilled Worker visa
The Health and Care Worker visa is a special version of the Skilled Worker visa for health and care jobs. The application for both runs through the Skilled Worker route. The main differences for a nurse are cost:
| Health and Care Worker | Skilled Worker | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee, up to 3 years (outside the UK) | £324 | £819 |
| Fee, more than 3 years (outside the UK) | £628 | £1,618 |
| Immigration health surcharge | None | £1,035 per year |
Sources: Health and Care Worker fees, Skilled Worker fees.
If your job is an eligible nursing job with an eligible employer, the Health and Care Worker visa is the one to use.
English for the UK nursing visa
You must show English at least at level B2. If you held this visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending or updating it, B1 is enough (GOV.UK).
For nurses there is a shortcut: you do not need to prove your English again if you already passed an English assessment accepted by your professional regulator. For nurses, that is the NMC. This is why many nurses apply for the UK nursing visa “without IELTS”: the NMC accepts OET, and some nurses meet its rules through training or practice in English. Our OET vs IELTS guide compares the tests and NMC scores.
Bringing your partner and children
As a nurse on this visa, your partner and children under 18 can usually apply as your dependants (GOV.UK). Your partner can be a husband, wife, civil partner, or an unmarried partner you have lived with in a relationship for at least 2 years.
Unless you have been in the UK for 12 months or your employer covers your family’s costs for the first month, each dependant must show savings:
| Dependant | Savings |
|---|---|
| Partner | £285 |
| First child | £315 |
| Each other child | £200 |
The rules are stricter for care workers and senior care workers, who can usually only bring family if they have been continuously employed as care workers in the UK since before 11 March 2024. These limits do not apply to registered nurses.
How the application works
- Accept a job offer from a licensed sponsor and agree a start date.
- Get your certificate of sponsorship reference number from the employer.
- Apply online, up to 3 months before the start date on your CoS (GOV.UK).
- Prove your identity and provide your documents, as GOV.UK instructs after you apply.
- Wait for the decision. GOV.UK says it usually takes about 3 weeks. You may be able to pay for a faster decision.
Extending the visa, changing jobs and settling
The visa can last up to 5 years, and you can extend it as many times as you still qualify. To extend, you apply online before your current visa expires, under the Skilled Worker route with the Health and Care Worker option, and you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision (GOV.UK).
If you change employer or job, you do not extend; you apply to update your visa instead.
GOV.UK says that after 5 years you may be able to apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain). The government consulted on reforming settlement from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026, proposing that settlement should be “earned” rather than granted automatically after a fixed period (GOV.UK consultation). The outcome had not been published when we checked. Check the current rules before you plan around a 5-year date.
UK nurse visa from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and elsewhere
The visa rules are the same for every nationality. What differs is how you are recruited. England’s Code of Practice stops agencies from actively recruiting in “red list” countries, but people who live there can still apply directly to advertised jobs. Our guide on hospitals and agencies that sponsor international nurses explains this, and how to check an employer.
On Nurse Jobs World on 16 October 2026 there were 687 nursing jobs in the United Kingdom, about 1% of them stating visa sponsorship. See the visa sponsorship jobs page for the current list.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Health and Care Worker visa salary threshold for nurses?
Usually at least £25,000 a year, or the going rate for your job if that is higher. For nurses, the going rate is the NHS band figure in the Home Office’s national pay scales table: for band 5 in England, £29,970. NHS band 5 pay in England actually starts at £32,073 from April 2026.
How much does the UK nursing visa cost?
The Health and Care Worker visa costs £324 for up to 3 years and £628 for more than 3 years, per person. Nurses and their dependants do not pay the immigration health surcharge. You may need to show £1,270 in savings unless your employer certifies your maintenance.
Can I get a UK nursing visa without IELTS?
Yes, if you meet the English rules another way. GOV.UK says nurses who passed an English assessment accepted by the NMC do not need to prove their English again for the visa. The NMC accepts OET as well as IELTS, and has other routes for nurses trained or working in English.
Can my family come with me on a nurse visa in the UK?
Usually yes. Registered nurses can bring a partner and children under 18 as dependants. Each needs to show savings (£285 for a partner, £315 for the first child, £200 for each other child) unless your employer covers your family’s first month or you have all been in the UK for 12 months.
What is the difference between the Health and Care Worker visa and the Skilled Worker visa?
The Health and Care Worker visa is part of the Skilled Worker route, for eligible health and care jobs. It costs less (£324 instead of £819 for up to 3 years from outside the UK) and has no immigration health surcharge, which is £1,035 a year on the Skilled Worker visa.