United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Health and Care Worker visa: government fee breakdown
By Sam Parks · Last checked:
Source auto-reconfirmed 23 July 2026 by the daily automated check (figures unchanged since last review).
The UK Health and Care Worker visa costs roughly £340 for a single applicant on a 3-year grant — dramatically cheaper than the general Skilled Worker route because IHS is waived.
These are the fees paid to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland government. For sponsored routes, the payer varies by country and component; use the item notes and primary source to confirm whether the sponsor, applicant, or both pay. Fees for dependants, priority services, or higher salary bands may change the total.
How much does the Health and Care Worker visa cost in United Kingdom?
The UK Health and Care Worker visa costs roughly £340 for a single applicant on a 3-year grant — dramatically cheaper than the general Skilled Worker route because IHS is waived.
Verified against GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker visa: how much it costs on 1 June 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 cost-to-complete
Source dates: cost models checked 30 June 2026 and 1 July 2026; UK salary thresholds checked 30 May 2026. These links support retrieval and review, not ranking, traffic or market-share outcome claims.
Headline total
£343.20
Single care-sector applicant, 3-year CoS, no priority
No changes recorded for this figure since 1 June 2026.
Currency
GBP (Pound sterling)
Last checked
1 June 2026
Itemised fees
| Fee component | Amount | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|
Application fee (up to 3 years, outside UK)# Reduced rate — around 60% lower than the general Skilled Worker fee. | £324 | Yes |
Application fee (more than 3 years, outside UK)# | £628 | Optional |
Immigration Health Surcharge# Health and Care Worker applicants are exempt from IHS — a major reason this route is cheaper than general Skilled Worker. | £0per year | Yes |
Certificate of Sponsorship fee# More than doubled from £239 to £525 on 9 April 2025 (held at £525 in the 8 April 2026 fees table). Paid by the sponsor at CoS assignment. | £525 | Yes |
Biometric enrolment# In-UK UKVCAS enrolment fee; outside-UK applicants enrol biometrics at an overseas VAC, charged separately by the commercial partner. Not centrally published as a single GOV.UK figure. | £19.20 | Yes |
Worked example
Single care-sector applicant, 3-year CoS, no priority — £343.20
- £324 application fee
- £0 IHS (exempt on this route)
- £19.20 biometrics
- Plus £525 CoS fee (sponsor-paid)
How to read these fees
The £343.20 headline covers single care-sector applicant, 3-year CoS, no priority. Of the 5 components listed above, 4 are mandatory and 1 is an optional add-on (such as priority processing) you can choose to skip. The single biggest mandatory line is Certificate of Sponsorship fee at £525.
Bringing family changes the total — see the dependant section below. Treat the figure as a planning estimate rather than a quote: confirm each line on the official source linked below on the day you pay, because these fees are revised regularly.
Dependant fees
Dependant entry was narrowed for new care-worker and senior-care-worker applications on 11 March 2024. New applicants in those SOC codes generally cannot bring partners or children.
Dependants already present on a prior grant retain their permission. Non-care-subset Health and Care Worker applicants (e.g. nurses, doctors) can still bring dependants on the usual terms.
Why fees change
IHS exemption remains intact at this review date but has been publicly debated. The 11 March 2024 dependant-ban for care workers remains in force. The 8 April 2026 fees table raised the ≤3-year application fee to £324; the Certificate of Sponsorship fee had already risen to £525 earlier, on 9 April 2025. Because the Immigration Health Surcharge is waived, this stays one of the cheapest UK work routes, but confirm the exemption still applies to your job before you budget around it.
Primary source
GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker visa: how much it costs
https://www.gov.uk/health-care-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs
Cite or reuse this dataset
This figure is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the Visa Atlas page for the compiled, dated dataset, and cite the official source for the underlying government rule.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Health and Care Worker visa fee schedule", https://visaatlas.org/fees/uk/health-and-care-worker. Last verified 1 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/fees
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Health and Care Worker visa cost in government fees?
The UK Health and Care Worker visa costs roughly £340 for a single applicant on a 3-year grant — dramatically cheaper than the general Skilled Worker route because IHS is waived. The worked example assumes single care-sector applicant, 3-year cos, no priority, totalling £343.20. Fees for dependants, priority service, or higher-tier salary bands change the total — see the itemised table above.
Are these fees refundable if my application is refused?
Most application fees are non-refundable once the government begins processing. Some jurisdictions refund specific components (e.g. Canada's Right of Permanent Residence Fee refunds if refused; UK IHS refunds if the visa is refused). Check the linked primary source for the route you are applying to.
How often do these fees change?
IHS exemption remains intact at this review date but has been publicly debated. The 11 March 2024 dependant-ban for care workers remains in force. The 8 April 2026 fees table raised the ≤3-year application fee to £324; the Certificate of Sponsorship fee had already risen to £525 earlier, on 9 April 2025. Because the Immigration Health Surcharge is waived, this stays one of the cheapest UK work routes, but confirm the exemption still applies to your job before you budget around it.
Do dependants pay the same fees as the primary applicant?
Dependant entry was narrowed for new care-worker and senior-care-worker applications on 11 March 2024. New applicants in those SOC codes generally cannot bring partners or children.
Next steps
Full visa guide
Eligibility, application steps, and FAQs for the Health and Care Worker visa.
Processing time
How long the Health and Care Worker visa takes from application to decision.
Compare: Skilled Worker visa fees
Work visa for non-UK workers with a job offer from a Home Office–licensed sponsor in an eligible occupation.
Reviewed by Sam Parks, Editor and lead researcher.