UK Health and Care Worker Visa 2026: Who Still Qualifies

The Health and Care Worker visa is still open, but not for everyone it used to cover. Overseas recruitment of care workers ended in July 2025. Doctors, nurses and other registered professionals can still come. Here is where things stand in October 2026, checked against GOV.UK and the NMC.

The 2025 care worker closure

From 22 July 2025, the route for care workers (occupation code 6135) and senior care workers (code 6136) closed to new applications from overseas. GOV.UK states this directly in its guidance for people applying from abroad.

A transition period runs until 2028 and is under review. It covers people already in the UK:

• Care workers already sponsored in these roles can extend, change sponsor and work towards settlement.
• People switching from another visa can only do so if they have worked legally in the job for their sponsor for at least 3 months.
• Sponsors in England must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

Who still qualifies

You need a job offer from an eligible employer in an eligible occupation:

• Employers: the NHS, an organisation supplying services to the NHS, or an adult social care provider
• Occupations: GOV.UK lists 35 eligible codes, including doctors, registered nurses and midwives, pharmacists, a range of therapy and allied health roles, and social workers

The usual Skilled Worker rules also apply: a sponsor licence, a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) and a salary that meets the threshold.

Salary rules

GOV.UK says you will usually need at least £25,000 a year, or the going rate for your occupation if that is higher.

For NHS jobs, the going rate is tied to national pay scales such as Agenda for Change bands. Several codes have their own salary rules, so check your exact code in the occupation tables.

Fees: why this route is cheaper

The fee is the same inside or outside the UK. A Skilled Worker applicant also pays a surcharge of £1,035 a year, so on a five-year visa the saving is large.

You do not need to show the £1,270 if your employer certifies your maintenance on the CoS, or if you have held a valid UK visa for at least 12 months.

English: two separate tests to pass

There are two English requirements, and they are not the same.

For the visa: new applicants need English at B2 on the CEFR scale. You do not need to prove it again if your regulator, such as the NMC or GMC, has already accepted your English assessment.

For NMC registration: the bar is higher. The NMC's accepted test scores are:

Scores are valid for two years. You can combine results from two sittings within 12 months of each other, but you cannot mix IELTS and OET.

The NMC also accepts a nursing qualification taught and examined in English, or one year of recent practice in a country where English is the majority language. Read its guidance before you assume your Nigerian training covers you.

NMC registration for Nigerian nurses, step by step

1. Start your NMC application. Create an NMC online account and submit your qualification for evaluation (£140, non-refundable).
2. Meet the English requirement. Use IELTS, OET or another accepted form of evidence.
3. Pass the CBT (Part 1). It is run by Pearson Professional Assessments, which has test centres in most countries, so you can usually sit it in Nigeria. It costs £83 and has a numeracy section (15 questions, 30 minutes) and a clinical section (100 questions, 2 hours 30 minutes). You get three attempts within a year.
4. Secure a sponsored job. Ask each employer at what stage they sponsor you and when they expect you to sit the OSCE.
5. Apply for your visa. Use the CoS from your employer and pay £324 or £628.
6. Pass the OSCE (Part 2) in the UK. It costs £794, at the University of Northampton, Ulster University or Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. There are 10 stations. A reduced resit fee of £397 applies if you resit 7 or fewer, and all resits must be at the same centre.
7. Pay the registration fee (£153). Your PIN is issued and you can practise as a registered nurse.

The NMC says you can take the CBT and OSCE in either order, but you must pass both. In practice, nearly everyone from Nigeria takes the CBT first, because the OSCE is only held in the UK.

Doctors and allied health professionals

Doctors register with the General Medical Council (GMC), usually through the PLAB exams or another accepted route. Pharmacists, therapists and other allied health professionals register with their own UK regulator.

Fees, English scores and exam formats differ by regulator and change often. Check the regulator's own website rather than relying on social media summaries.

Family members

Partners and children of most health professionals can usually join you. Each needs their own application fee and maintenance funds (£285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each other child). Check the dependants section on GOV.UK for the surcharge position and current fees.

Care workers are more limited. They can only bring dependants in narrow cases, such as being continuously employed as a care worker on a sponsored visa since before 11 March 2024.

Pre-application checklist

• Your occupation code is one of the eligible health and care codes
• The employer is an NHS body, NHS supplier or eligible care provider with a sponsor licence
• You have started registration with your regulator (NMC, GMC, HCPC and so on)
• English test scores meet the regulator's bar and are less than two years old
• CBT passed (nurses and midwives)
• TB test from a Home Office-approved clinic (Nigeria is on the list)
• Criminal record certificate (required for healthcare jobs)
• Funds for the visa fee, plus £1,270 unless your employer covers maintenance
• Offer letter confirms salary, band and any relocation or OSCE support

Settlement

Like Skilled Workers, Health and Care Worker visa holders can currently apply for indefinite leave to remain after 5 years. The government's earned settlement proposals would make ten years the norm, possibly with shorter routes for public service workers such as nurses and doctors. Nothing is final yet. Our Skilled Worker visa guide explains what is proposed.

For help finding a legitimate sponsor, see how to find UK visa sponsorship jobs. For rent, NHS access and your first month, see Live and work in the UK.