Who pays the healthcare surcharge?
Dear Mr Bassie, I would like to know if every person needs to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of their United Kingdom immigration application when applying to go there. –S.P. Dear S.P.,
Persons might need to pay a healthcare surcharge called the ‘immigration health surcharge’, or IHS, as part of their immigration application. Whether persons need to pay will depend on the immigration status that they are applying for.
When making an immigration application online or through a premium service centre, persons pay the surcharge as part of their application or when they book an appointment.
If they are applying by post, persons must pay the surcharge online before they send the application as they will need to include the IHS reference number on their application form.
Persons can start using the National Health Service (NHS) when they have paid the healthcare surcharge or are exempt from paying it; or when the visa or immigration application is granted. It should be noted that successful applicants will still need to pay for certain types of services, such as prescriptions, dental treatment, and eye tests. Also, persons should take their biometric residence permits with them when they access healthcare in the United Kingdom (UK).
With respect to visa applications that were made outside the UK, persons will need to pay if they are nationals of a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA), or if they are applying for a visa to work, study, or join their family in the United Kingdom for more than six months, but they are not applying to remain in the UK permanently.
For immigration applications made from within the United Kingdom, persons need to pay if: they are a national of a country outside the EEA, or if they are making an immigration application for any length of time, including for six months or less, but are not applying to remain in the United Kingdom permanently. It should be noted that persons will still need to pay even if they have private medical insurance.
EXCEPTIONS
Persons will still need to use the payment service to get an IHS reference number, but they will not need to pay if they are children under 18 years of age who have been taken into care by a local authority or if they are a relevant civilian employees at NATO or the Australian Department of Defence in the UK or if they are their dependents. The service will tell them that they do not have to pay anything and will give them their healthcare surcharge reference number for the application. In addition, persons will be able to use the NHS even if they are exempt from paying.
Persons will be able to use the NHS without paying the surcharge or getting a reference number if they are applying for indefinite leave to enter or remain, they are a diplomat or a member of a visiting armed force, and not subject to immigration control, or they are a dependent of a member of the UK’s armed forces; they are the dependent of a member of another country’s armed forces who is exempt from immigration control; they are a family member of a European national with European Union treaty rights.
They will also be able to use it if they are applying for a visa for the Isle of Man or Channel Islands, they are a British Overseas Territory citizen resident in the Falkland Islands, they are an asylum seeker or applying for humanitarian protection or they are their dependent, or they are a domestic worker who has been identified as a victim of slavery or human trafficking.
The NHS can also be used by persons applying for discretionary leave to remain in the UK as someone who has been identified as a victim of slavery or human trafficking or their dependents. The Home Office’s domestic violence concession applies to them or the dependents being made to leave the United Kingdom would be against their rights under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Persons need to pay the healthcare surcharge if they apply for indefinite leave to remain but are only given limited leave, and they will need to pay before they are given the leave.
With respect to visitor visas and short-term visas, persons do not need to pay the surcharge or get an IHS reference number if they are applying for a visitor visa or a visa for six months or less from outside the UK. It should be noted that persons will need to pay for any NHS care they get at the point they use it – unless it is a service that is free.
I hope this helps.