Healthcare surcharge

• Exemptions

  You do not need to pay the healthcare surcharge if one of the following applies to you:

  • You are applying for a visitor visa.
  • You are applying for a visa for six months or less.
  • You are applying for indefinite leave to enter or remain.
  • You are applying to the EU Settlement Scheme.
  • You are a diplomat or member of a visiting armed forces and not subject to immigration control.
  • You are a dependant of a member of the UK’s armed forces.
  • You are applying for a visa for the Isle of Man or Channel Islands.
  • You are a British Overseas Territory citizen resident in the Falkland Islands.
  • You are an asylum seeker or applying for humanitarian protection (or you are their dependant).
  • You are a domestic worker who has been identified as a victim of human trafficking (or you are their dependant).
  • You are applying for discretionary leave to remain in the UK as someone who has been identified as a victim of slavery or human trafficking (or you are their dependant)
  • The Home Office’s domestic violence concession applies to you (or you are their dependant).

  You will be able to use the NHS if you are exempt from paying, with the exception of those on a visitor visa or any visa that will only last for six months or less. In this situation you will have to pay for NHS treatment when you use it, unless it is free.

  In some circumstances you may have to pay the IHS but can claim a full or partial refund afterwards. The UKVI refund information page has more details about relevant circumstances.

• Visa extensions

  If you apply for additional leave to remain (extensions on your visa), you will be subject to the same charge, even if you are applying for an extension period less than six months. Your entitlement to free NHS treatment will continue.

• Refunds

  Refunds are only applied in certain circumstances.

  If you are an EU citizen studying full time in the UK on a Student visa, you may be entitled to a full or partial refund of your IHS payment if all of the following apply:

  • your Student visa started on or after 1 January 2021
  • you have an EHIC issued in an EU country
  • you do not work in the UK

  The amount refunded will depend on when your EHIC expires.

   

  If a visa application is refused or rejected, the amount paid for the immigration healthcare surcharge will be automatically refunded.

   

  The surcharge will not be refunded if the leave is not used, or if a person who has paid it leaves the UK early or does not use the NHS while in the UK.

   

• Short course students (standard visitor visa)

  Students studying for six months or less do not have to pay a healthcare surcharge but may be charged for any NHS medical treatment they receive. You should ensure you obtain medical insurance before travelling to the UK.

  Scottish Universities are currently lobbying the UK Government to change this as healthcare in Scotland is usually free to students studying a full-time course regardless of duration.

  The following treatments provided by the NHS (UK wide) are free regardless of the amount of time you are spending in the UK:

  • accident and emergency services (but not follow-up treatment or admission as an in-patient to hospital)
  • family planning services
  • diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections
  • diagnosis and treatment of certain infectious diseases
  • compulsory psychiatric treatment or treatment that has been ordered by a court.