A Guide to the Immigration Health Surcharge 2022

Whilst the UK is known for its national health service, not all UK employers who sponsor overseas workers on work visas, or individual immigration applicants for family and spouse visas, understand who has to pay the immigration health surcharge as part of securing UK entry clearance. In this blog our immigration solicitors provide a guide to the immigration health surcharge 2022 by answering your frequently asked questions on the surcharge.

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For immigration law advice call the expert London immigration lawyers on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

Who has to pay the immigration health surcharge?

If a person subject to UK entry clearance wants to come to the UK to live for more than six months the likelihood is that the visa applicant will need to pay the immigration health surcharge unless they fall within an exception.

Which visa applicants are exempt from paying the immigration health surcharge?

There are a few limited exemptions to paying the immigration health surcharge, most notably:

• Applications for the health and care worker visa – only applications for the health and care worker visa, not the skilled worker visa route it falls under, are exempt.
• Applications for a dependent visa where the main visa applicant is applying for a health and care worker visa.
• Applications for asylum or humanitarian protection.

Other less used routes qualify for an exemption, such as diplomats or some armed forces applicants.

An applicant does not have to pay the immigration health surcharge if they are applying for a visa from outside the UK and their visa duration is six months or less. That means that those applying for a visitor visa or a fiancé visa don’t need to pay the immigration health surcharge.

Do you have to pay the immigration health surcharge if you are applying to settle in the UK?

You do not need to pay the immigration health surcharge if you are applying for:

• British citizenship or
• Indefinite leave to remain or
• Indefinite leave to remain using the Home Office domestic violence concession or
• Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

How much is the immigration health surcharge?

The amount of the immigration health surcharge is set by the government . The current immigration health surcharge fees are £624 per year of the visa. The immigration health surcharge fee is reduced to £470 per year if the application is for a student visa or a Youth Mobility Scheme visa or the applicant for any visa is under the age of eighteen at the time of their immigration application.

If a visa applicant wants a visa for three years and nine months, the immigration rules say they will need to pay four years of immigration health surcharge as the nine months is over six months but less than one year. That means the applicant has to pay for a full fourth year even though they are getting nine months cover in the fourth year as the visa duration is three years nine months.

Does a sponsoring employer have to reimburse the immigration health surcharge paid by a skilled worker visa applicant? 

Sponsorship Licence lawyers say that both UK sponsor licence holders (who are sponsoring workers on the skilled worker visa and intra company transfer visa) and individual work visa applicants get confused about who has to pay the immigration health surcharge. That’s partially because a sponsoring employer has to pay the immigration skills charge and cannot ask a skilled worker visa or intra company transfer visa applicant to reimburse the payment of the immigration skills charge.

With the immigration health surcharge, the charge is payable by the individual visa applicant, not their sponsoring employer or sponsor. However, Sponsorship Licence lawyers acknowledge that many businesses with sponsor licences elect to pay the work visa applicant’s immigration health surcharge as part of their recruitment package, especially where they know that competitor businesses offer to pay the immigration health surcharge for overseas job applicants.

Is the immigration health surcharge payable if a sponsored employee has company private health insurance?

Whether a sponsoring employer provides comprehensive private health cover as part of the remuneration package or not, the immigration health surcharge still applies.

Is the immigration health surcharge payable if a visa applicant has private health insurance?

Whether a visa applicant has private healthcare or their sponsoring partner (if the applicant is applying for a family visa or spouse visa) has family health cover, the applicant still needs to pay the immigration health surcharge unless the applicant  falls within an exemption.

Can a visa applicant pay the immigration health surcharge on a pay as you go basis?

The immigration rules say a visa applicant can't pay the immigration health surcharge on a pay as you go basis as the surcharge payment has to be paid when the visa application is made.

Can a visa applicant pay the immigration health surcharge in instalments?

The immigration rules say a visa applicant has to pay the immigration health surcharge when they apply for their visa. An applicant therefore can't pay the surcharge by instalments.

Can a visa applicant get a refund of the immigration health surcharge if the visa application is refused?

A visa applicant can't go ahead with their visa application until they pay the immigration health surcharge but what happens if the visa application is refused by the Home Office? The answer is that a refund is given.

If a visa applicant tries to get the Home Office to process their application without first paying the surcharge, their application will be treated as invalid.

Can a visa holder get a refund of their immigration health surcharge payment if they don’t use the NHS?

If a visa holder remains in perfect health whilst they are in the UK on a spouse visa, skilled worker visa or other type of visa, then the immigration rules don’t provide for a refund to reflect the fact that the visa holder has paid for health care that they have not used. However, the good news is that if a visa applicant is unwell and requires the help of the national health service the medical treatment is not capped or limited to the amount paid in health surcharge.

Do dependents on dependent visas need to pay the immigration health surcharge?

If an applicant is being accompanied by a dependent on a dependent visa, then they too will need to pay the immigration health surcharge. The surcharge amount is reduced if the dependent visa applicant is a child under the age of eighteen.

If you have questions about the immigration health surcharge, call our friendly expert London immigration solicitors.

UK Online and London Immigration Solicitors 

For immigration law advice speak to the immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.