New Health and Care visa to launch on 4 August 2020

The Home Office has released the first guidance on the new Health and Care visa for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, including individuals working in the social care sector. The Health and Care visa will be available from 4 August 2020 and will fall under the Tier 2 (General) category.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this new visa, applicants must be:

• applying for a Tier 2 (General) visa;
• filling a job that falls within a specified list of Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes; and
• employed by the National Health Service (NHS), an NHS-commissioned service provider or a social care provider listed in the Home Office's Tier 2 guidance.

The exhaustive list of SOC codes that will be eligible for the new visa is as follows:

• 2112 – biological scientists and biochemists;
• 2113 – physical scientists;
• 2211 – medical practitioners;
• 2212 – psychologists;
• 2213 – pharmacists;
• 2214 – ophthalmic opticians;
• 2215 – dental practitioners;
• 2217 – medical radiographers;
• 2218 – podiatrists;
• 2219 – health professionals not elsewhere classified;
• 2221 – physiotherapists;
• 2222 – occupational therapists;
• 2223 – speech and language therapists;
• 2229 – therapy professionals not elsewhere classified;
• 2231 – nurses;
• 2232 – midwives;
• 2442 – social workers; and
• 3213 – paramedics

The occupation list will be reviewed and most likely expanded under the new skilled worker route from 1 January 2021. This is because occupations at Level 3 or above on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (A-level equivalent) will be eligible for a skilled worker visa, whereas only Level 6 (bachelor's degree equivalent) occupations are eligible under Tier 2.

The Home Office has confirmed in a press release that it intends to exclude care workers from the scope of the visa under both the current system and the new one.

Sponsors should include an explanation of why the applicant is eligible for the Health and Care visa on their certificate of sponsorship (CoS). If the explanation is not included on the CoS, the application could be rejected as insufficient fees would be paid.

IHS exemption and fee reduction for applicants and dependants

As announced by the government on 21 May 2020, Health and Care visa applicants and their dependent family members will be exempt from paying the immigration health surcharge (IHS).

In addition, applicants and their dependants will be entitled to a reduced government application fee. At the time of the launch, the fees will be as set out in the table below for each applicant and dependant. These will be the same regardless of whether the application is made in the United Kingdom or abroad.

The fees may be subject to change in the future and do not include the biometric enrolment fee of £19.20 per person or fees charged by the Home Office's commercial partners.

If an employee who would qualify for a Health and Care visa is already in the United Kingdom under Tier 2 and has dependants who are joining them from abroad, the dependants can benefit from the reduced application fee and exemption from the IHS. To benefit from the fee reductions, the sponsor will need to provide a letter or email confirming information about the main applicant that would normally need to be provided in a CoS for the Health and Care visa. If the sponsor is not an NHS body, the letter or email must also outline how the sponsor is a qualifying organisation for the visa.

Fast-tracked visa processing

The Home Office plans to prioritise these applications and has said that it aims to process all applications within three weeks of the biometric enrolment appointment. This is the same timeline for processing an entry clearance application when the standard service is used, although it is much faster than applications made in the United Kingdom, which can take up to eight weeks to process.

IHS reimbursement for other health and social care workers

Separately, since 31 March 2020, individuals working in the health and social care sector have been exempt from paying the IHS on a permanent basis. Workers who have paid the IHS on or after 31 March 2020 will have this reimbursed. This applies even if they do not qualify for the Health and Care visa.

It is unclear whether the reimbursement will be available for workers or whether it will also cover their dependants; however, further information will be published on the IHS page of GOV.UK. The Home Office has been proactively contacting Tier 2 workers and will set up an operational mechanism in conjunction with the Department of Health and Social Care to reimburse individuals who are outside the scope of the Health and Care visa. These arrangements are expected to start from 1 October 2020 and the reimbursements will be made in six-monthly tranches. Individuals who believe that they are due to be reimbursed can email [email protected].