UK Health and Care Worker Visa 2026: Who Can Still Apply from Pakistan
The UK Health and Care Worker visa is still one of the most affordable skilled routes into Britain — but it is not the route it was two years ago. Overseas care worker recruitment has closed, the English requirement has been raised, and fees went up again in April 2026. If you are a nurse, doctor or allied health professional in Pakistan, here is an honest picture of what is open and what is not.
Care worker jobs are closed to new overseas applicants
Since 22 July 2025 the UK has stopped issuing Certificates of Sponsorship to care workers and senior care workers applying from outside the country. These roles are now open only to people already in the UK on another visa, and even that arrangement is transitional — the Home Office has indicated it runs until 22 July 2028.
This matters because most of the advertised offers Pakistani applicants receive on social media are for exactly these two job codes. If an agent in Islamabad or Rawalpindi is promising you a UK care home job with sponsorship from Pakistan in 2026, treat it as a red flag and ask to see the sponsor licence and the job code in writing.
Who can still apply from Pakistan
The route remains fully open for clinical and professional roles: registered nurses and midwives, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, radiographers, physiotherapists, biomedical scientists and other allied health professions. You need a confirmed job offer from a UK employer holding a Home Office sponsor licence, a valid Certificate of Sponsorship, and an eligible occupation code.
Salary and English requirements in 2026
NHS roles are assessed against the national Agenda for Change pay scales rather than a flat figure. From 1 April 2026 the full-time Band 3 entry point rose to about £25,760, which brought some healthcare support worker posts back within sponsorship range. Roles outside national pay scales are generally measured against a higher general threshold — reported at around £31,300 — or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is greater.
The bigger change for Pakistani applicants is language. From 8 January 2026 new applicants must show English at CEFR level B2, up from B1. Note that this is only the visa threshold — the NMC asks nurses for IELTS Academic 7.0 overall (no band below 6.5) or OET Grade B, which is a far higher bar than the visa itself.
What it costs
The headline advantage of this route survives intact: Health and Care Worker applicants and their dependants remain exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is otherwise £1,035 per person per year. On a five-year visa for a family of four that exemption is worth more than £20,000.
Application fees were roughly £324 for visas up to three years and £628 for longer grants before the April 2026 uplift of about 6.5 per cent, so budget a little above those figures. Employer-side costs — the Certificate of Sponsorship and the Immigration Skills Charge — are paid by the UK employer, never by you. Anyone asking you to reimburse them is breaking UK sponsorship rules.
The registration step comes first
Most Pakistani applicants underestimate this stage. For nurses the sequence is usually:
- Open your NMC account and start PNC verification with the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council early — this is often the slowest step.
- Sit IELTS Academic or OET and meet the NMC score, not just the visa score.
- Pass the CBT at a Pearson VUE centre in Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi.
- Secure a sponsored job offer and Certificate of Sponsorship.
- Apply for the visa, then sit the OSCE after arrival in the UK.
Doctors follow the GMC and PLAB pathway instead. Allow nine to fourteen months end to end; anyone quoting you three months is selling something.
Documents to prepare in Pakistan
Expect to need your degree and transcripts attested, a police character certificate, a TB test from an approved clinic, and certified English translations of any Urdu-language documents. We cover these separately in our guides to HEC degree attestation, the police character certificate and certified translation. If your role falls outside health and care, the UK Skilled Worker visa is the route to read next, and our full visa services page lists what we handle.
Hijrat helps nurses, doctors and allied health professionals prepare NMC and GMC paperwork, attestation, translations and the visa file itself — from our Aabpara office in Islamabad, serving Rawalpindi and overseas Pakistanis. Fees always itemised before you pay.
UK immigration rules, salary thresholds and fees change frequently, and the figures above reflect information available on the date of publication. Every decision rests with the UK Home Office — always confirm current requirements on GOV.UK or with Hijrat before you pay any fee or accept a job offer.