No assessments have been made on the operation, transparency, and application of the overseas visitor charging regulations with respect to maternity services and no guidance has been issued to National Health Service trusts on the application, proportionality, or consideration of maternity care previously received overseas, when calculating charges.

Individuals who are not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom may be charged for some NHS services, however, maternity care is considered immediately necessary or urgent care and so must never be delayed because a patient cannot pay. As the NHS is a residency-based system and having British nationality does not mean someone is automatically considered ordinarily resident, no differentiated approach has been considered.

The Department is working closely with NHS England to ensure the overseas visitor charging regulations are applied fairly and consistently across all NHS trusts.

There is no right of appeal against the refusal of a visit visa and there are no plans to introduce one; it was removed by Parliament in June 2013.

All applicants who are refused a visit visa are provided with a refusal notice setting out the reasons for the decision. Should an applicant wish to reapply for a visa having been refused, they may make a fresh application, taking care to ensure that they address the concerns raised in the refusal notice, and demonstrate that they now meet the requirements of all the relevant rules - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor.

Comprehensive guidance on the Visitor route is publicly available and is regularly updated to support applicants and decision-makers. The guidance was updated most recently on 25 February 2026, and this document is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visit-guidance.

The Home Office has a comprehensive framework in place to support improved decision-making on visit visa applications and to minimise the risk of error.

This includes:

• Robust quality assurance processes, with decisions subject to both first-line checks by managers, random sampling and audit activity, which are supported by marking standards.
• A structured decision assurance framework, including targeted reviews which assess compliance with guidance and the quality of decision-making.
• Continuous improvement activity, using feedback to provide targeted support, alongside regular updates to guidance and training for decision-makers.

These measures ensure that decisions are made in line with the Immigration Rules and published guidance, and that any identified issues are addressed through feedback, training and ongoing assurance activity.

The UK keeps its visa system under regular review, which includes regularly reviewing and updating caseworker guidance. The Visit guidance was updated most recently on 25 February 2026, and this document is available publicly on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visit-guidance.

The guidance includes extensive information for caseworkers on assessing the likelihood that visitor visa applicants will leave the UK at the end of their visit. However, as no changes have occurred recently to this assessment, it is not considered necessary to update this section of the guidance document at this time.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.

The Home Secretary has the power to exclude a person who is not a British Citizen if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission at the border if a person’s character, conduct, or associations mean it is undesirable to grant them entry to the UK.

The Home Secretary has the power to deprive an individual of British citizenship where it was obtained by fraud, or where deprivation is conducive to the public good. Deprivation on conducive grounds is used only for individuals who pose a threat to the UK or whose conduct is considered to involve very high harm, for example activities relating to national security (including terrorism and espionage), war crimes, serious and organised crime, or extremism and the glorification of terrorism. Decisions on deprivation are taken on a case-by-case basis.

The UK proscribed Hamas in its entirety in 2021. Supporting a proscribed organisation is a serious criminal offence and this Government will do whatever is required to keep communities in the UK safe and protect our national security.

As set out in the recently published "Protecting What Matters" document, the Home Office is increasing efforts to stop hate preachers and extremists from entering the UK. Overseas speakers of extremist concern will be identified and referred to specialist teams to take swift immigration action where appropriate, including cancelling or refusing their visas or ETAs, should they attempt to travel to the UK and so preventing them spreading their dangerous and divisive rhetoric.

The Home Office already has sophisticated mechanisms in place to seek out and prevent extremist individuals from entering the UK. This work operates in conjunction with existing border security and immigration frameworks. As part of the annual State of Extremism report, the Home Office will include detail on the volume and type of cases where immigration action has taken place.

The Department has not issued any specific guidance for Iranians with health conditions who are visiting the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the Department of Health and Social Care has not engaged in discussions with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office concerning Iranians visiting the UK who require cancer treatment.

In England, the National Health Service is a residency‑based system and only those who are ordinarily resident in the UK, or otherwise exempt under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, are entitled to NHS care without charge, however, decisions about whether treatment is provided are always made by clinicians on the basis of clinical need, and urgent or immediately necessary care must not be delayed or denied because of charging considerations.

The Department has not issued any specific guidance for Iranians with health conditions who are visiting the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the Department of Health and Social Care has not engaged in discussions with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office concerning Iranians visiting the UK who require cancer treatment.

In England, the National Health Service is a residency‑based system and only those who are ordinarily resident in the UK, or otherwise exempt under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, are entitled to NHS care without charge, however, decisions about whether treatment is provided are always made by clinicians on the basis of clinical need, and urgent or immediately necessary care must not be delayed or denied because of charging considerations.

The Department does not hold the data requested on the number of overseas visitor managers that are employed by the National Health Service.

NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. The data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the Human Resources system for the NHS. The level of detail available in the dataset is insufficient to identify staff who are employed in roles described as ‘Overseas Visitor Managers’ or similar.

The Department and NHS England publish annual data on the income identified and recovered from chargeable overseas visitors in England in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and in NHS England’s consolidated NHS provider accounts.

The following table shows aggregate income identified and cash payments received between 2020 and 2025:

Source: The Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.

Neither the Department nor NHS England hold a breakdown of this information by NHS trust.

NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year.

The Department does not hold the data requested on the number of overseas visitor managers that are employed by the National Health Service.

NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. The data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the Human Resources system for the NHS. The level of detail available in the dataset is insufficient to identify staff who are employed in roles described as ‘Overseas Visitor Managers’ or similar.

The Department and NHS England publish annual data on the income identified and recovered from chargeable overseas visitors in England in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and in NHS England’s consolidated NHS provider accounts.

The following table shows aggregate income identified and cash payments received between 2020 and 2025:

Source: The Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.

Neither the Department nor NHS England hold a breakdown of this information by NHS trust.

NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year.