Immigration Corner | Obtaining a heathcare worker visa

Dear Mr Bassie,

I am a healthcare worker and I have a job offer to work in the United Kingdom (UK). What visa should I apply for? Any assistance would be appreciated.

– L.C.

Dear L.C,.

Persons can apply for a Tier 2 (health and care) visa if: they have a job offer from the National Health Service (NHS); an organisation providing medical services to the NHS; an organisation providing adult social care; or if they are from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland; or if sponsors have told them that they are eligible for it.

Persons must be a qualified:

• Doctor

• Nurse

• Health professional

• Adult social care professional

A full list of eligible employers and professions can be found online in ‘Part A’ of the Tier 2 guidance.

Persons will need to be employed by a licensed sponsor to apply to live in the United Kingdom. The sponsor checks that persons can do the job that they are being hired for and whether they qualify for a visa. At this point, they will assign a certificate of sponsorship to prove this. Please note that the sponsor must also provide other information needed for the application; for example, how much applicants will be paid.

The earliest persons can apply for a visa is three months before they are due to start working in the United Kingdom. The date persons can start work is listed on the certificate of sponsorship.

Applicants should get a decision on the visa three weeks from the date the biometric information is provided.

FEES

A visa for up to three years costs £232 and a visa for more than three years costs £464. Please note that the fee is the same whether the application is made from inside or outside the UK, and dependents will also pay the same amount. In addition, the applicant will not have to pay the healthcare surcharge.

Persons who are applying to extend or switch in the UK will need to pay £19.20 to have their biometric information (fingerprints and a photo) taken.

Persons can get a faster decision on their applications. If persons are applying to extend or switch in the UK, they can pay an extra £500 for the priority service to get a decision within five working days.

Persons can also pay an extra £800 for the super priority service to get a decision:

• By the end of the next working day after providing biometric information, if the appointment is on a weekday;

• Two working days after providing biometric information if the appointment is at the weekend.

Working days are Monday to Friday, not including bank holidays. Upon receipt of the decision letter, the biometric residence permit will take up to 10 working days to arrive.

HOW LONG CAN PERSONS STAY

Persons can go to the UK with a Tier 2 (health and care) visa for a maximum of five years and 14 days, or the time given on the certificate of sponsorship plus one month, whichever is shorter.

Persons can start their stay up to 14 days before the start date on the certificate of sponsorship. They can apply to extend this visa for up to another five years, as long as the total stay is not more than six years.

WHAT PERSONS CAN AND CANNOT DO

Persons can:

• Work for their sponsor in the job described in the certificate of sponsorship;

• Do a second job in certain circumstances;

• Do voluntary work;

• Study if it does not interfere with the job they are sponsored for;

• Travel abroad and return to the UK;

• Take family members with them.

Persons cannot:

• Own more than 10 per cent of their sponsor’s shares (unless they earn more than £159,600 a year);

• Get public funds;

• Apply for a second job until they have started working for their sponsor.

All the best.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com