Immigration Health Surcharge

[The Station Agent]

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) was brought in on April 6th 2015 and, as usual with such things, it had teething problems. The surcharge does not apply to visit visas or to short visas of less than 6 months.

We heard of several music groups (Tier 5 CoS holders) being charged the surcharge fee of £200 despite applying for visas of just a few weeks.

There was misinformation being given out by consulates and VACs, plus the Business Helpdesk at UKVI in Sheffield also gave out incorrect advice. To compound matters the gov.uk website calculator for the IHS doesn't currently ask the length of visa so it assumes you need to pay the surcharge and, hence, gives some people the wrong answer.

Tier 5 (creative and sporting) CoS holders who are coming here for less than 6 months do NOT need to pay the surcharge. They do NOT need to go to the IHS portal and get a special reference number either. The consulate may send out misleading letters or emails saying "it isn't clear whether you've paid the surcharge", "if you do not pay the surcharge it may delay your application" etc. This is all nonsense if you're applying for a short visa of less than 6 months.

[Petaltop]

This is all nonsense if you're applying for a short visa of less than 6 months.

I hope people don't think this means they can use the NHS for free. They need to have full health insurance before they travel. They don't pay the health surcharge with their visa application but they won't be able to use the NHS for free either. Only UK citizens or those on ILR get free NHS.

If they don't have insurance to pay, the NHS will bill them at 150% of the NHS cost. Or they could be refused treatment and medication if they can't prove they have the means to pay their NHS bill.

[The Station Agent]

Fine. That's not my point. About 90% of tier 5 creative and sporting people are here for less than a month and most of those will have health insurance anyway. My point was about the surcharge and the misleading information coming out of UKVI.

[Petaltop]

Tier 5 (creative and sporting) CoS holders who are coming here for less than 6 months do NOT need to pay the surcharge.

To make this clear. Those on a visa of 6 months or less will need to pay the NHS when they use it. They cannot use the NHS for free. Best take out private insurance before they travel, UK plans to charge those without insurance 150% of NHS costs. They do not pay the Immigration Health Surcharge with their visa application because they are not allowed to use the NHS for any free treatment.

The UK government link.

https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigrati ... n/overview

"You don’t have to pay the healthcare surcharge if you’re applying from outside the UK for a visitor visa or any visa that will only last for 6 months or less.

You don’t need to use healthcare surcharge service or get an IHS reference number for your visa application. Instead, you’ll have to pay for any healthcare you get through the NHS at the point you use it."