Following the announcement in May that health and care workers would no longer be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, the policy was backdated to 31 March to bring it in line with the introduction of visa extensions for health and care workers.

Health and care workers who paid the health surcharge to cover the period from 31 March 2020 onwards may be eligible for a refund. Refunds will not be made for the period prior to 31 March 2020.

Health and care workers who paid the health surcharge to cover the period from 31 March 2020 onwards, may be eligible for a refund. This includes those who were working in the health and care sector before that date.

More information on this policy can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/refunds

There are no plans to abolish the NHS surcharge for non-EU citizens who pay National Insurance contributions. The surcharge is intended to represent a fair and proportionate financial contribution to the NHS by migrants, corresponding with their temporary immigration status

Temporary migrants will not have built up the long-term relationship and contribution to the UK that a permanent resident has built up, and will build up, over the course of their lifetime.

It is, therefore, the migrant’s immigra-tion status that determines whether they pay the surcharge, not their tax contributions or their profession. The Government recognises, however, that temporary migrants contribute to the UK economy in a number of ways, including paying income tax and national insurance; these contributions are reflected in the surcharge levels, which are below the average per capi-ta cost to the NHS of treating temporary migrants.

The Immigration Health Charge does not apply to migrants granted indefinite leave to remain; those granted this status qualify for free NHS care if they are properly settled in the UK.