Health and Care Worker Visa Glasgow: NHS & Care Sector Applications 2026

What is the Health and Care Worker Visa?

The Health and Care Worker Visa is a sub-category of the UK Skilled Worker route for overseas nationals coming to work in eligible health and social care roles. It is designed for doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and certain social care workers taking up positions with the NHS, NHS-funded employers, or adult social care providers registered with the relevant care regulators. In Scotland, that means NHS boards including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and care providers registered with the Care Inspectorate.

The route was created to make it easier and cheaper for the health and care sector to recruit internationally qualified staff. It offers two advantages that the standard Skilled Worker Visa does not: reduced Home Office application fees and a full exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge. Everything else, including the Certificate of Sponsorship requirement, the occupation code framework, the salary threshold and the path to settlement, follows the Skilled Worker structure.

Most Glasgow applicants on this route are joining NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, a Scottish health board, or a Care Inspectorate-registered care provider in the city or the wider west of Scotland. The occupation codes used across the NHS and the Scottish care sector are where we spend most of our checking time, because an error at the Certificate of Sponsorship stage delays the whole application.

Who qualifies for the Health and Care Worker Visa

You qualify if you have a genuine job offer in an eligible occupation from a UK employer that holds a valid sponsor licence, and the role meets the relevant occupation code and salary requirements. The employer must be:

• the NHS or an NHS-funded body;
• an adult social care provider registered with the Care Quality Commission in England; or
• an adult social care provider registered with the Care Inspectorate in Scotland (for Glasgow and Scottish applicants).

You must also be able to speak, read, write and understand English to the required standard, unless you are exempt. Most registered health professionals meet the English requirement through their professional registration process. We confirm eligibility at the first consultation before you or your employer take any steps with the Certificate of Sponsorship.

Eligible occupation codes

The Health and Care Worker Visa uses the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code system. Your job offer must fall within one of the occupation codes the Home Office has designated as eligible for the health and care route. The main codes include:

• 2211 Medical practitioners (doctors)
• 2217 Medical radiographers
• 2231 Nurses
• 2232 Midwives
• 2235 Paramedics
• 2236 Physiotherapists
• 2237 Occupational therapists
• 2442 Social workers
• 6141 / 6145 Care workers and senior care workers (subject to the 2024-2025 changes described below)

The full list of eligible codes is published by the Home Office and can be updated. Your job title is not the deciding factor: it is the SOC code assigned to the role by your employer. If the code on the Certificate of Sponsorship does not match an eligible occupation, the application will be refused regardless of what the role involves. We check the code against the current list as a first step in every application.

Care worker and senior care worker: 2024-2025 rule changes

The rules governing overseas care worker and senior care worker sponsorship changed significantly during 2024 and into 2025. The changes tightened eligibility in several ways, including the requirement for care providers to be registered with the relevant care regulator, and introduced restrictions on overseas care worker recruitment that were not in place before.

If you are a care worker or senior care worker applying from abroad, or if you work for a Glasgow care home or domiciliary care provider that wants to sponsor you, the position needs to be confirmed against the current rules before the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned. The rules in this area have moved more than once, and acting on guidance that was accurate twelve months ago carries real risk. We advise on the current requirements at the outset.

Care providers in Glasgow wishing to obtain or extend a sponsor licence to recruit overseas care staff should see our Sponsor Licences service. The sponsor licence and the individual visa application are separate processes, and both need to be in order before anyone can travel.

The Certificate of Sponsorship

Before you apply for a Health and Care Worker Visa, your employer must assign you a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). This is a unique reference number, not a physical document, and it contains the details the Home Office uses to assess your application: your job title, occupation code, salary, start date and the employer’s sponsor licence reference number.

The CoS is generated by the employer through the Home Office sponsorship management system. Errors in the CoS are a common source of delays and refusals, because the information it contains must match the Immigration Rules for your occupation code and the details in your application form exactly. A salary entered as an annual figure when the rules require an hourly rate for that occupation, or a code that does not appear on the eligible list, will cause the application to fail.

We review the CoS details with you before it is finalised, and we check the occupation code, salary entry and role description against the current rules. Where an error is found, we advise your employer on the correction before the CoS is assigned. This is the stage at which most problems are cheapest to fix.

The salary requirement

The Health and Care Worker Visa has a lower salary threshold than the general Skilled Worker route. The current minimum is around £25,000 a year, or the going rate published by the Home Office for your specific occupation code, whichever is higher. For most registered clinical roles in the NHS, the NHS pay scale banding meets the going rate as a matter of course. For some allied health professions, and for social care roles, the going rate threshold needs to be checked explicitly against the pay offered.

There is also a minimum hourly rate requirement for some occupations, separate from the annual salary figure. We map both figures to your specific code and pay band before the Certificate of Sponsorship is finalised, so your employer is not assigning a CoS that cannot support the application.

Immigration Health Surcharge: why you pay nothing

One of the most significant practical advantages of the Health and Care Worker Visa is the full exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge. On the standard Skilled Worker route, the surcharge is £1,035 per year of leave granted, paid upfront at application. For a five-year grant that is over £5,000 per applicant before the visa fee is counted.

Health and Care Worker Visa applicants pay no surcharge. The exemption extends to dependants you include in the application. This is not a discount or a deferral: it is a complete waiver for the duration of the leave. For a family of three joining NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde from the Philippines or India, the saving over the initial grant alone is substantial.

Application fees in 2026

The Health and Care Worker Visa application fee is reduced compared with the standard Skilled Worker route. The current fees are around £324 for entry clearance up to three years, and around £628 for entry clearance over three years. Switching or extending inside the UK uses a separate in-country fee structure. There is no Immigration Health Surcharge on top of these fees.

Additional costs to budget for include any document translation, a TB test certificate if required, and any English language test where your professional registration does not already satisfy the requirement. We give a written cost breakdown at the assessment so you know the total before you commit.

Applying from outside the UK or switching in-country

If you are outside the UK, you apply for entry clearance at a visa application centre in your home country, attend for biometrics and provide supporting documents. This is the most common route for overseas health workers joining NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde or a Scottish care employer from the Philippines, India, Nigeria or elsewhere in West Africa.

If you are already in the UK on a visa that permits switching, such as a Student Visa or a standard Skilled Worker Visa in a different role, you can switch to the Health and Care Worker route in-country once you have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the eligible role. You cannot switch from a visit visa. We confirm whether you can switch or need to apply from outside the UK at the first consultation.

The English language requirement

You must show English at B1 CEFR level, unless you are exempt. Nationals of majority English-speaking countries, and applicants who hold a degree taught in English from a UK institution or a recognised overseas university, are exempt. For registered health professionals, the English competence assessment that forms part of the registration process with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the General Medical Council or the Health and Care Professions Council often satisfies the requirement. We confirm which route applies to your circumstances at the start of the application.

Document checklist

A Health and Care Worker Visa application typically requires your current passport, the Certificate of Sponsorship reference number, evidence that your salary meets the threshold, your English language evidence or exemption, a TB test certificate where required, and professional registration certificates where the role requires UK registration. The exact list depends on your occupation, whether you are applying from outside the UK or switching in-country, and how your employer has structured the offer. We issue a tailored checklist for every client rather than a generic list.

Tuberculosis testing

If you have lived for six months or more in a country on the Home Office TB testing list, you must include a TB test certificate from a Home Office approved clinic. The list includes the Philippines, India, Nigeria and many other countries from which Glasgow health employers recruit regularly. If you have lived in an exempt country, no test is required. We confirm whether the requirement applies before you book anything.

Bringing your family

Your partner and children under 18 can apply as dependants on the Health and Care Worker Visa. The Immigration Health Surcharge exemption extends to all dependants, which is a meaningful saving for a family. Your partner has the right to work in the UK without restriction. Dependent children can study. We prepare the family’s applications together so that documents are consistent and the timeline is coordinated.

Extending your Health and Care Worker Visa

The initial grant can run up to five years. Before it expires you apply to extend, using the same route and the same eligibility requirements. Your employer will need to assign a new Certificate of Sponsorship. The occupation code and salary requirements apply again at the extension stage, and if the rules have changed in the intervening period you need to meet the current rules, not the rules at the time of your first application. We start extension preparation around three months before the visa expires.

From Health and Care Worker Visa to ILR

After five continuous years on the Health and Care Worker Visa, or on a qualifying combination of the Health and Care Worker Visa and its predecessor routes, you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. You need to meet the continuous residence requirement, pass the Life in the UK Test, and meet the English language requirement at B1 CEFR level or above. You do not need to switch routes to reach ILR. The same file, the same employer relationship, and the same occupation code carry you through from first application to settlement.

Twelve months after ILR you can apply for British citizenship, or immediately if your partner is a British citizen. Our ILR service picks up the same file, so nothing is rebuilt from scratch.

If your application is refused

Most refusals on this route relate to the Certificate of Sponsorship, the occupation code, the salary threshold, or a gap in the supporting documents. Some refusals carry a right of administrative review where the decision contains a case-working error. In many cases a corrected fresh application, with the CoS reissued to reflect the right code or salary, is the faster and stronger route. We review the refusal letter against the Immigration Rules, tell you honestly which route gives the better prospect, and where an appeal is the right path we refer you to a representative for the tribunal hearing.

Health and Care Worker Visa in Glasgow and Scotland

Glasgow is one of the UK’s largest NHS catchment areas. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde covers a population of over 1.1 million and employs staff across the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, the Royal Infirmary, the Western Infirmary site, the Princess Royal Maternity, and multiple community hospitals and health centres across the city. International recruitment is a consistent feature of workforce planning across nursing, medicine, allied health professions and social care.

The Scottish care sector has its own regulatory framework. Care providers in Glasgow and across Scotland must be registered with the Care Inspectorate rather than the Care Quality Commission, which applies in England. This distinction matters for the Health and Care Worker Visa: the requirement that overseas care worker sponsors be registered with the relevant regulator means that the Care Inspectorate registration of a Glasgow care home or domiciliary provider needs to be confirmed before the sponsor licence application is made and before any Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.

We work regularly with Glasgow applicants joining NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, applicants joining care providers across the city and the wider west of Scotland including Paisley, Renfrew and East Kilbride, and sponsors in the Glasgow care sector navigating the 2024-2025 changes. If you are coming to Glasgow to work in health or care, we know the specific employment landscape you are walking into.

A note for employers

To assign a Certificate of Sponsorship, your NHS trust, health board or care provider must hold a valid sponsor licence. If your employer does not yet have a licence, or if the licence needs to be extended or amended, that is a separate application made by the employer to the Home Office. We handle sponsor licence applications for health and care employers as a distinct service. See our Sponsor Licences service for how that works.

How UK Visa Assistance helps

UK Visa Assistance is a Glasgow immigration practice. We prepare Health and Care Worker Visa applications end to end: confirming eligibility, checking occupation codes and salary compliance, reviewing the Certificate of Sponsorship before it is assigned, preparing all supporting documents, completing the application form and submitting on your behalf. We work on fixed fees agreed in advance. To start, call 0141 496 0321 or request a callback for a free initial assessment of your Health and Care Worker Visa.