United Kingdom Immigration Health Surcharge is £1,035 for most visa routes

What the Immigration Health Surcharge costs

The UK Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is a mandatory fee charged alongside most longer-term UK visa applications, giving holders access to the National Health Service on broadly the same terms as UK residents for the length of their visa. The current rates took effect Feb. 6, 2024, under the Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2024.

The standard rate is £1,035 per person per year for work, family and most non-student routes. A discounted rate of £776 per person per year applies to students and their dependants, Youth Mobility Scheme applicants and children under 18 at the date of application.

The charge is calculated in six-month blocks based on the visa length requested, with any part-year rounded up. Payment is due in full online at the time of application; part-payment isn't allowed.

Who pays and who's exempt

The surcharge applies to anyone applying from outside the UK for permission to stay more than six months and to anyone applying inside the UK to extend or switch limited leave. Each dependant pays their own IHS.

Exemptions cover Standard Visitor visa holders and other stays of six months or less, applicants for indefinite leave to remain, Health and Care Worker visa holders and their dependants, diplomats, certain armed forces personnel and people on Ukraine schemes, S1/S2 healthcare routes and some NATO postings.

Because the UK has no dedicated digital nomad visa, remote workers either enter as visitors for up to six months without IHS access to free NHS care or use a long-term route like Skilled Worker, Innovator Founder or Global Talent and pay the full surcharge.

What it adds to a UK move

A three-year Skilled Worker visa now carries £3,105 in IHS alone, payable upfront and separate from the visa fee. A family of four on the same three-year route, with two adults at the standard rate and two children at the discounted rate, faces roughly £10,866 in IHS before any visa or legal costs.

Short-term visitors pay nothing upfront but can be billed for non-emergency NHS treatment, so private travel or health insurance covering the UK is worth lining up before arrival.

Read our full United Kingdom guide for the complete picture.