NHS visa sponsorship: does the NHS sponsor visas?

Key points

• On 5 October 2026, 244 organisations with "NHS" in their registered name held a Skilled Worker licence on the Home Office register.
• gov.uk says the Health and Care Worker visa is for qualified doctors, nurses, health professionals and adult social care professionals with a job at the NHS, an NHS supplier or in adult social care.
• gov.uk says it is cheaper to apply for than a Skilled Worker visa, and you do not pay the immigration health surcharge.
• For NHS clinical jobs, the going rate is the pay band for the job in the Home Office tables, which follow Agenda for Change and differ by UK nation.
• Since 22 July 2025, care worker and senior care worker jobs can only be used to extend, update or switch to the visa, not for a new application from outside the UK.

Does the NHS sponsor visas?

Yes. Each NHS trust, health board or other NHS body is a separate employer, and each needs its own sponsor licence. On the Home Office register published on 5 October 2026, 244 organisations with “NHS” in their registered name held a Skilled Worker licence.

That figure is a name count, so read it as a floor. It counts every licensed organisation whose registered name contains “NHS”. A body without “NHS” in its legal name is not counted, even if it is part of the health service. To check a particular trust, search its full name on the sponsor check.

A licence means a trust can sponsor. Whether it sponsors a particular job depends on the role and the trust, and the job description often says.

What is the Health and Care Worker visa?

gov.uk describes it as a visa for medical professionals to come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job with the NHS, an NHS supplier or in adult social care. To qualify, gov.uk says you need to:

• be a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional;
• work in an eligible health or social care job;
• work for a UK employer approved by the Home Office: the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or an organisation providing adult social care;
• have a Certificate of Sponsorship from that employer;
• be paid at least the minimum salary for the job.

It works much like the Skilled Worker visa: it can last up to 5 years before you extend it, and gov.uk says you may be able to apply to settle after 5 years if you meet the other requirements. gov.uk says a decision on an application from outside the UK usually takes 3 weeks.

Health and Care Worker visa or Skilled Worker visa?

The Health and Care Worker visa sits within the Skilled Worker route. The differences that matter most are set out on gov.uk:

gov.uk’s Skilled Worker and Graduate visa pages both point doctors, nurses and people in health or adult social care to the Health and Care Worker visa for this reason. The current fees are on gov.uk.

Which NHS roles can be sponsored?

gov.uk lists the occupation codes that can apply for a Health and Care Worker visa. They include doctors (2211 and 2212), nurses (2232 to 2237), midwives (2231), physiotherapists (2221), occupational therapists (2222), speech and language therapists (2223), clinical psychologists (2225), pharmacists (2251), dentists (2253), radiographers (2254), paramedics (2255), social workers (2461) and biomedical scientists (2113).

Each of these has its own role page with the rate or pay scale the Home Office names:

• Nurse, midwife and doctor
• Physiotherapist, occupational therapist and speech and language therapist
• Radiographer, paramedic and pharmacist
• Dentist, clinical psychologist, biomedical scientist and social worker

Clinical roles also need registration with the right professional regulator, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses and midwives. The advert and the employer will say what is needed for the post.

How do NHS pay bands work as the going rate?

For most of these codes, there is no single going rate. The Home Office occupation tables (Appendix Skilled Occupations, Table 3) say the going rate is the relevant pay band, and Table 4 lists the Agenda for Change band rates for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Doctors follow the medical pay scales named in the same tables.

A few rules in those tables are worth knowing:

• Rates are by nation. The same band can have a different rate in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so the rate depends on where the job is.
• Hours matter. Table 4 rates assume a 37.5-hour week (37 hours in Scotland) and are pro-rated for other working patterns.
• Bands 1 and 2 are not eligible. Band 3 and band 4 jobs can only be sponsored for people already on the Skilled Worker route under the rules before 22 July 2025, except nursing auxiliaries and assistants (code 6131).

gov.uk says the going rates for these jobs apply whether you work in the public or private sector. The new-entrant discount does not reduce a pay-band rate, so the new-entrant guide applies to other jobs, not these. Ask the employer which band a role is on: the advert usually says.

What changed for care workers in July 2025?

On 22 July 2025, the Immigration Rules closed new applications from outside the UK for care workers (code 6135) and senior care workers (code 6136). The explanatory memorandum to the rules change, published on gov.uk, says applications from people switching from other visas inside the UK continue for a transition period until 22 July 2028.

gov.uk’s Health and Care Worker page sets out the current position:

• Care worker and senior care worker jobs can only be used if you are extending, updating or switching to the visa.
• Someone switching from a different visa has to have been working legally in the job for their sponsor for at least 3 months.
• In England, the employer must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

These are the published rules today. They are strict and time-limited, and gov.uk or a regulated immigration adviser is the place to check an individual case.

How do you find NHS jobs with sponsorship?

NHS vacancies are advertised on NHS Jobs, the NHS’s own recruitment site, and adverts often say whether the post can be sponsored. Three checks help before you apply:

1. Is the trust licensed? Search its name on the sponsor check.
2. What does the advert say about sponsorship? Look for the sponsorship or right-to-work line in the job description.
3. Which band and nation? The band and location set the salary the visa needs.

How Visavi helps

Every job in Visavi is from a licensed sponsor on the Home Office register, or the advert itself says they sponsor, and adverts that say they will not sponsor are left out. Each job shows the register row and the employer’s own words about sponsorship, so you can see the evidence before you apply.