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Guidance

Applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad

Guidance for prospective international applicants for health and social care jobs in the UK.

Updates to this page

From:
Department of Health and Social Care
Published:
15 December 2022
Last updated:
20 August 2025
Show all updates

  1. Updated the guidance to reflect the immigration rules changes from July 2025 which mean that employers can no longer sponsor new care workers or senior care workers from abroad.

  2. In 'Part 1: applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad', we have removed the reference to biometric residence permits, because they have been replaced with electronic visas (eVisas).

  3. Reordered and refined content into 2 parts to improve navigation of the document. New content on, in Part 1, fraud, EEA qualifications, professional indemnity, requirement to drive; and, in Part 2, example concerns, visa extensions, pensions, healthcare services, adapting to cultural differences and religious support groups.

  4. Updated link to latest WHO health workforce support and safeguards list and the number of countries on that list (which is now 55).

  5. Updated guidance around taking on additional work if you have a Health and Care Worker visa.

  6. First published.

Documents

Part 1: applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad

HTML

Part 2: living and working in the UK - what you need to know as a health and care worker

HTML

Advice to help you stay safe (leaflet - web version)

PDF, 692 KB, 4 pages

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Advice to help you stay safe (leaflet - print version)

PDF, 1.02 MB, 2 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

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Details

This guidance is for people from overseas who may want to work in health and social care in the UK.

It is divided into 2 parts. ‘Part 1: applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad’ provides support for prospective overseas candidates applying for jobs. It includes information on: 

  • recruitment processes and agencies
  • how to avoid scams
  • understanding finances
  • employment offers and contracts
  • visas and professional regulation

‘Part 2: living and working in the UK - what you need to know as a health and care worker’ sets out what prospective candidates need to know before they come to work and live in the UK. It offers guidance on:

  • being aware of exploitation and what to do about it
  • arranging accommodation
  • worker legal rights and standards
  • employment changes and visas
  • equality and inclusion in the workforce
  • where to go for further guidance, support or help in the UK 

The accompanying leaflet gives an overview of the main messages from the full guidance. 

Other relevant guidance on GOV.UK includes: 

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