Health and Care Worker visa and the impact

The Health and Care Worker visa allows medical practitioners to come to the UK to work for the NHS, an NHS supplier, or to undertake a role in adult social care.  Successful applicants can stay in the UK for up to 5 years, with the possibility to extend or apply for settlement, providing certain criteria are met.  All applicants must be a qualified doctor, nurse, healthcare professional or adult social care professional, and must have sufficient knowledge of English and a job offer from an eligible employer.  The Home Office provides a list of the roles, which can be sponsored, including pharmacists, speech and language therapists, dental practitioners and podiatrists.  Any role, which is not on this list, cannot be sponsored under the Health and Care Worker visa.  In February 2021, responding to pressures on the care system, the Home Office added care staff to the list of eligible roles for the Health and Care Worker visa. Care jobs are now also capable of being sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route, which is beneficial for sponsors working in the healthcare industry but who do not qualify for a Health and Care Worker visa licence.