United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Health and Care Worker visa: total cost to complete
By Sam Parks · Last checked:
A source-linked budget for the common outside-UK Health and Care Worker case: up-to-3-year grant, no priority service, no dependants, the IHS exemption shown explicitly, and GBP 1,270 maintenance funds separated from money paid away.
What does the Health and Care Worker visa actually cost?
Mandatory non-refundable costs are £324-£444. Refundable proof-of-funds requirements are tracked separately at £1,270, because that money is shown or blocked rather than normally lost.
Source checked against GOV.UK - Health and Care Worker visa: money to support yourself on 1 July 2026.
UK work-route money stack
UK Skilled Worker cost, salary and settlement answer
Read the UK Skilled Worker route as one stack: visa fee, IHS, maintenance funds, salary floor and the 5-year ILR planning clock. The Health and Care Worker route is kept separate because its IHS and salary rules are materially different.
Skilled Worker costs
Application fee £819; IHS £3,105; show-only maintenance £1,270.
Modelled paid-away range: £3,924-£4,044; show-only range: £1,270.
Salary floor
General floor £41,700/year; discounted ISL/tradeable floor £33,400/year.
The occupation-specific going rate can still bind higher than the headline floor.
Health and Care split
Application fee £324; IHS £0; salary floor £25,000/year.
The IHS exemption is the reason this route should not be collapsed into a generic Skilled Worker cost claim.
- Full UK migration cost builder
- Skilled Worker cost-to-complete
- Skilled Worker fee breakdown
- UK salary thresholds
- Skilled Worker points calculator
- UK ILR date calculator
- Health and Care Worker route
- Health and Care fee breakdown
Source dates: cost models checked 30 June 2026 and 1 July 2026; UK salary thresholds checked 10 September 2026. Compare the cost and salary figures with the linked route requirements before applying.
What it actually costs
A source-linked budget for the common outside-UK Health and Care Worker case: up-to-3-year grant, no priority service, no dependants, the IHS exemption shown explicitly, and GBP 1,270 maintenance funds separated from money paid away.
Money you don't get back
£324-£444
Mandatory fees, services and one month of insurance.
Proof of funds (returned to you)
£1,270
Proof of funds, not a fee. Usually waived if you have held a UK visa for 12 months or your sponsor certifies maintenance on the CoS.
| Cost line | Amount | Type | When / who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application fee (up to 3 years) | £324 | Gov fee | Reduced Health and Care Worker fee. GOV.UK states the same fee applies whether applying inside or outside the UK. GOV.UK - Health and Care Worker visa: how much it costs |
| Application fee (more than 3 years)(optional) | £628 | Gov fee | Use this tier instead of the up-to-3-years fee when the sponsored grant exceeds 3 years. GOV.UK - Health and Care Worker visa: how much it costs |
| Immigration Health Surcharge exemption | £0 | Insurance | Health and Care Worker applicants and eligible dependants do not pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. GOV.UK - Health and Care Worker visa overview |
| Maintenance funds for the main applicant | £1,270 | Proof of funds | Proof of funds, not a fee. Usually waived if you have held a UK visa for 12 months or your sponsor certifies maintenance on the CoS. GOV.UK - Health and Care Worker visa: money to support yourself |
| Certificate of Sponsorship assignment fee(optional) | £525 | Gov fee | Sponsor-side fee, normally paid by the employer when assigning the CoS; excluded from applicant sunk-cost total. Home Office immigration and nationality fees - 8 April 2026 |
| Priority service (optional)(optional) | £500 | Service | Optional faster decision service where available; excluded from the baseline total. Home Office immigration and nationality fees - 8 April 2026 |
| Biometrics / visa application centre services· indicative | £0-£120 | Service | Outside-UK appointment and assisted-service fees vary by visa application centre and country. Treat as a country-specific cash-flow item, not a GOV.UK tariff. Indicative VAC service range - verify with the local visa application centre |
| English-language evidence(optional)· indicative | £0-£220 | Service | Conditional: many applicants use a SELT or OET, but some qualify through nationality, UK degree, Ecctis-confirmed degree, or previous proof. Indicative English-test or evidence cost |
| Tuberculosis test where required(optional)· indicative | £0-£150 | Service | Conditional on country of residence and stay length; clinic fees vary by country and appointment provider. Indicative TB-test clinic cost - country-specific |
| Professional registration / clinical exams(optional)· indicative | £0-£1,500 | Service | Conditional on profession. Nurses, doctors and allied health professionals may need regulator registration, competence tests or clinical exams; care-worker cases may not. Indicative profession-specific regulator costs - verify NMC, GMC, HCPC or the relevant regulator |
Baseline sunk cost is the up-to-3-years application fee plus a country-specific biometrics/VAC service range for a single outside-UK applicant, no priority service. The Immigration Health Surcharge is included as a GBP 0 line because the route exemption is the main cost difference versus standard Skilled Worker. The GBP 1,270 maintenance requirement is shown separately because it is proof of funds, not a fee, and may be waived by sponsor certification or 12 months lawful UK residence. Sponsor-side, dependant and conditional professional-regulator lines are excluded from the baseline total unless the user chooses them. Last checked 1 July 2026.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This cost model is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite Visa Atlas for the compiled sunk/refundable split and cite each linked authority or provider source for the underlying line item.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Health and Care Worker visa cost-to-complete model", https://visaatlas.org/cost-to-complete/uk-health-and-care-worker. Last checked 1 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/cost-to-complete
FAQs
What does the Health and Care Worker visa actually cost to complete?
Mandatory non-refundable costs are £324-£444 in the current model. Separately, refundable proof-of-funds requirements are £1,270. The line table explains each item and source.
Is proof of funds a sunk cost?
No. Proof of funds is money you must show, hold or block. It can still be a cash-flow barrier, but it is different from application fees, document costs and insurance payments that you do not normally get back.
Why are some lines marked indicative?
Some third-party costs vary by country, provider and document count. Those lines use a range and are marked indicative so they are not confused with a single government tariff.