DOHA: Nationals from outside the EEA (European Economic Area) coming to the UK for longer than six months will now be required to pay a ‘health surcharge’ when they make their immigration application. The rule came into force yesterday.
The health surcharge will be £200 per year and £150 per year for students, payable up-front and for the total period of time for which they are given permission to stay in the UK, the British embassy said in a statement yesterday.
Migrants coming to work, study or join family members currently receive free medical treatment under the UK’s National Health System (NHS) in the same way as a permanent resident.
The changes will ensure that migrants make an appropriate financial contribution to the cost of their NHS care, added the statement.
Non-EEA nationals visiting the UK on a tourist visa or any other visit visa will not be required to pay the health surcharge, but will continue to be fully liable for the costs of any NHS treatment at the point they receive it.
The surcharge also does not apply to those making applications for settlement and those who are not subject to UK immigration control such as accredited diplomats and their dependants, who will continue to enjoy free access to the NHS.
In setting the surcharge levels, the UK Government has considered the wide range of free health services available to migrants alongside the valuable contribution they make and the need to ensure the UK remains attractive to the brightest and the best from around the world, said the statement.
The money collected by the UK Home Office will be passed to the health departments in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The statement said “the surcharge levels are lower than the cost of medical insurance required in some of our competitor nations and, for overseas students, the surcharge represents only 1 percent of the total cost of studying in the UK for a three year undergraduate course.”
Having paid the surcharge, migrants will have the same access to the NHS as a UK permanent resident while their stay in the UK is lawful.
The Peninsula
