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Health and Care Worker visa cost calculator

What the published GOV.UK fees add up to for you and your family on a Health and Care Worker visa, set against a standard Skilled Worker visa, with the savings to show and your employer's costs.

The fee depends on whether the certificate is for up to 3 years or over 3 years.

Applying from

Your employer assigns the occupation code. Not eligible means, for example, not working for the NHS, an NHS supplier or in adult social care.

Children under 18

0

Children aged 18 or over

0

GOV.UK says a child over 18 can only be a dependant if they already have permission to be in the UK as your dependant.

Faster decision

Optional and not offered everywhere.

If it does, you usually do not need to show savings.

Fees the published rules list · Health and Care Worker visa

£324

1 person × £324 application fee. Immigration Health Surcharge: £0. The same family on a standard Skilled Worker visa would pay £3,924, which is £3,600 more.

Health and Care Worker visa against a standard Skilled Worker visa

1 person, 3 years, applying from outside the UK. The fee steps up for a certificate over 3 years: Health and Care Worker £324 up to 3 years, £628 over 3 years; Skilled Worker £819 and £1,618.

Visa costs compared
ItemHealth and Care WorkerSkilled Worker (standard)
Application feesEach person applying pays the fee1 person × £324 = £3241 person × £819 = £819
Immigration Health SurchargeGOV.UK: Health and Care Worker visa holders and their dependants do not pay it£0 (exempt)£3,1053 years × (1 × £1,035)
Total to pay when you apply£324£3,924

Sources: Health and Care Worker fees, Skilled Worker fees, surcharge rates, who pays the surcharge.

Money to show you hold (not a fee)

Held in your account for 28 days in a row, with day 28 within 31 days of applying. Not added to any total.

£1,270
  • You: £1,270
  • Partner: £285; first child: £315; each other child: £200

Ask your employer: you usually do not need to show this money if your certificate of sponsorship confirms they will cover your first month's costs. GOV.UK: money your family needs.

Costs with no published figure

Set by the clinic, test centre or translator. Not in any total.

  • Tuberculosis testNeeded if you are coming for 6 months or more and have lived in a listed country. Taken at a Home Office approved clinic.Set by provider
  • English testIf you need one to prove your English for the visa.Set by provider
  • TranslationsFor documents not in English or Welsh.Set by provider
  • User Pays visa application serviceOptional, where your visa application centre offers it.£76.50

GOV.UK fees from the Home Office fees table in force from 8 October 2026, checked on 21 October 2026. You will be told the exact amount when you apply. Fees usually change once or twice a year, so confirm each one on GOV.UK before you pay.

Method

How it works

The calculator does arithmetic on GOV.UK figures and nothing else.
  1. Step 1

    Count who applies

    You, your partner and each child each make an application and each pays the fee.
  2. Step 2

    Pick the length

    The fee depends on whether the certificate of sponsorship is for up to 3 years (£324) or over 3 years (£628).
  3. Step 3

    Compare

    The same family on a standard Skilled Worker visa, with the surcharge it would pay.
  4. Step 4

    Nothing guessed

    Costs with no published figure, such as a TB test, are listed but never added.

Worked example

A nurse, a partner and two children

Applying from outside the UK on a 5-year certificate of sponsorship, without a faster decision.

Health and Care Worker visa

  • Application fees: 4 × £628 = £2,512
  • Immigration Health Surcharge: £0 (exempt)
  • Total: £2,512

Standard Skilled Worker visa

  • Application fees: 4 × £1,618 = £6,472
  • Surcharge: 5 × (2 × £1,035 + 2 × £776) = £18,110
  • Total: £24,582

The published fees differ by £22,070 for this family. If the employer does not certify maintenance, the family would also need to show £2,070 in savings (£1,270 + £285 + £315 + £200), which is held, not paid. A single applicant on a 3-year certificate would pay £324.

Explained

What the published rules say

The Health and Care Worker visa is a form of the Skilled Worker visa for doctors, nurses, health professionals and adult social care professionals whose job is with the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or an organisation providing adult social care. GOV.UK says you need a job offer from an approved employer, known as a licensed sponsor, who gives you a certificate of sponsorship.

The fees table from 8 October 2026 lists the Health and Care Worker fee at £324 per person for a certificate of up to 3 years and £628 for over 3 years, against £819 and £1,618 for a standard Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK (£943 and £1,865 inside). The bigger difference is the Immigration Health Surcharge: GOV.UK says people eligible for a Health and Care Worker visa, and their dependants, do not pay it.

Your employer pays the certificate of sponsorship fee and the Immigration Skills Charge. GOV.UK says that after 5 years you may be able to apply to settle, known as indefinite leave to remain, if you meet the other requirements; that application has its own fee and rules. For eligibility, dependants and the steps to apply, read our Health and Care Worker visa guide, and check whether a salary meets the published rule with the sponsorship salary checker.

FAQ

Questions about Health and Care Worker visa costs

GOV.UK lists £324 per person if your certificate of sponsorship is for up to 3 years, and £628 per person if it is for more than 3 years. The fee is the same inside or outside the UK. These are the fees in the Home Office fees table from 8 October 2026; they rose on 8 April 2026.

No. GOV.UK says you do not need to pay the surcharge if you are a health and care worker who is eligible for a Health and Care Worker visa, or their dependant. On a standard Skilled Worker visa the surcharge is £1,035 a year per adult and £776 a year per child under 18.

For a 5-year certificate, applying from outside the UK with a partner and two children under 18, the published fees add up to 4 × £628 = £2,512, with no surcharge. The same family on a standard Skilled Worker visa would pay £6,472 in fees plus £18,110 in surcharge.

GOV.UK says you usually need £1,270 held for 28 days in a row, plus £285 for a partner, £315 for one child and £200 for each other child. You usually do not need to show it if your employer certifies maintenance on your certificate of sponsorship, or if you have been in the UK with a valid visa for 12 months. This money is held, not paid.

For applications inside the UK, GOV.UK says each family member applying with you pays the extra £500 (priority) or £1,000 (super priority). Its page for applications from outside the UK says only that you will be told if a faster service is available, so the calculator counts the fee once there and says so.

The employer. GOV.UK sets the certificate fee at £525 and the Immigration Skills Charge at £1,320 for the first 12 months for a medium or large sponsor (£480 for a small or charitable one), plus a further amount for each 6 months. GOV.UK says a sponsor may lose its licence if it asks the worker to pay these.

No. GOV.UK lists care worker (6135) and senior care worker (6136) codes only for people extending, updating or switching inside the UK, and the rules have closed them to new overseas recruitment since 22 July 2025. Different rules also apply to bringing dependants in these jobs.

No. The calculator adds up the fees GOV.UK publishes and shows what the published rules say. MedicSail is not authorised to give immigration advice. For advice on your own case, use an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority or a regulated solicitor, and check GOV.UK before you pay.

Sources

Where the figures come from

Every figure was checked against these GOV.UK pages on 21 October 2026. Visa fees come from the Home Office fees table in force from 8 October 2026.
  1. 1GOV.UK: Health and Care Worker visa, how much it costs
  2. 2GOV.UK: Health and Care Worker visa, your partner and children
  3. 3GOV.UK: Health and Care Worker visa, your job
  4. 4Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 October 2026
  5. 5GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa, how much it costs
  6. 6GOV.UK: Immigration health surcharge, how much you pay
Show all 14 sources
  1. 7GOV.UK: Immigration health surcharge, who needs to pay
  2. 8GOV.UK: Immigration health surcharge refund if you work in health and care
  3. 9GOV.UK: Get a faster decision on your visa or settlement application
  4. 10GOV.UK: UK visa sponsorship for employers, certificates of sponsorship
  5. 11GOV.UK: UK visa sponsorship for employers, immigration skills charge
  6. 12Immigration Rules: Appendix Skilled Worker
  7. 13GOV.UK: Tuberculosis tests for visa applicants, listed countries
  8. 14GOV.UK: Find an immigration adviser

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