GovWire

If you have a debt to the NHS thats been added to your immigration record, you can be:

• refused a visa
• stopped at the UK border

How you get an NHS debt

If you have treatment at a hospital or specialist clinic (secondary healthcare) in the UK, you need to pay for it unless one of the following applies to you at the time youre treated:

• youre ordinarily resident in the UK
• you paid the immigration health surcharge as part of your current UK visa
• youre exempt from the immigration health surcharge

If you do get charged, the NHS trust which treated you should send you an invoice.

Free healthcare

Primary healthcare is free for everyone. This includes:

• visiting a GP
• accident and emergency services
• detection and treatment of certain infectious diseases
• other free services

When you need to pay

Youll have 2 months from the date on your invoice to pay.

If you do not, the debt may be added to your immigration record. This depends on how much debt you have.

Citizens of the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein

The debt will be added to your immigration record if its worth 500 or more for treatment since 1 July 2021.

Citizens of other countries

The debt will be added to your immigration record if its worth either:

• 1,000 or more for treatment since 1 November 2011
• 500 or more for treatment since 6 April 2016

How to pay

You need to pay the NHS trust which treated you. Instructions on how to pay are on the invoice, if you received one.

Alternatively, you can find which NHS trust treated you and contact them.

If you cannot pay the debt in full, you may be allowed to pay it in instalments.

What happens afterwards

The debt will be removed from your immigration record after youve either:

• paid in full
• agreed to pay in instalments

This means it will not affect any visa applications or your entry to the UK.

If you agree to pay in instalments and do not keep up with your payments, the debt may be added back to your immigration record.

If you think a debt has been wrongly added to your immigration record, you can make a complaint to the Home Office.