Visitor Visa and the NHS
Visitors are not covered by the NHS in the same way as residents, but the line is not where most pages put it. A&E and GP appointments are free; hospital treatment is not. This guide sets out both sides.
- Section
- Visitor Visa
- Reading time
- 6 min
- Last checked
- 10 March 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- Accident and emergency treatment is free to everyone in England.
- GP appointments are free for temporary patients staying 24 hours to 3 months.
- Being admitted to hospital after A&E is charged, and so is non-emergency hospital treatment.
- Hospital charges are 150% of the national NHS rate.
- Visitors do not pay the immigration health surcharge, which applies to permission of more than 6 months.
Visitors do not pay the immigration health surcharge, which is the payment that buys NHS hospital treatment on resident terms. In England, accident and emergency treatment and GP appointments for temporary patients remain free to everyone. Hospital treatment beyond that is charged at 150% of the national NHS rate, as are prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests.
What Is Free
Certain NHS services are available to everyone in the UK regardless of visa status:
- Accident and emergency treatment. Free. Being admitted to hospital afterwards is not — that is where the charge starts.
- GP appointments. Free for temporary patients, which NHS guidance defines as people staying between 24 hours and 3 months.
- Treatment for infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted infections.
- COVID-19 testing and vaccination. Free for all overseas visitors.
- Family planning services, other than abortion and fertility treatment.
- Treatment for torture, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, or sexual violence.
What Is Charged
Non-emergency hospital treatment for someone who is not ordinarily resident is charged at 150% of the national NHS rate. Charged items include:
- Hospital admission, including admission after an A&E visit
- Non-emergency hospital treatment and surgery
- Prescriptions
- Dental treatment and eye tests
- Abortion and fertility treatment
- Most screening tests that lead on to further tests or treatment
NHS guidance sets no ceiling on these charges. For visitors coming specifically for medical treatment, see our medical treatment visitor guide.
Travel Insurance
Nothing in the visitor rules requires travel insurance, and GOV.UK does not make it a condition of a Standard Visitor visa. Rowan will not tell you to buy a product. What the published position amounts to is this: hospital treatment you need while visiting is charged at 150% of the national NHS rate, there is no cap on that, and the bill is yours unless something else covers it.
Note also that paragraph V 4.2(e) of Appendix V requires funds to cover “the cost of planned activities such as private medical treatment” — so where treatment is the point of the visit, the cost of it is part of what the application has to show.
Comparison with Other Visa Types
Visitors have the least NHS access of any visa category. Compare:
- Student visa holders: pay the healthcare surcharge at £776 a year, and get NHS hospital treatment on resident terms. Prescription and dental charges still apply. See our student visa NHS guide.
- Skilled Worker visa holders: pay the healthcare surcharge at £1,035 a year, and get NHS hospital treatment on resident terms. See our Skilled Worker visa guide.
- Visitors: no surcharge, because it applies only to permission of more than 6 months — and so no hospital treatment on resident terms.
For more on the surcharge, see our Immigration Health Surcharge guide.
Next Steps
Related guides:
- Visitor Visa Requirements
- Medical Treatment Visitor Guide
- Immigration Health Surcharge
- Student Visa NHS Access
- Visitor Visa Costs
For official information, see the GOV.UK Standard Visitor visa page and the NHS guidance on accessing services when visiting from abroad.
Questions and answers
Can visitors use the NHS for free?
Some of it, yes. In England, accident and emergency treatment is free, and GP appointments are free for temporary patients staying between 24 hours and 3 months. Being admitted to hospital after an A&E visit is charged, and non-emergency hospital treatment is charged at 150% of the national NHS rate. Prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests are charged.
Do visitors pay the Immigration Health Surcharge?
No. The healthcare surcharge applies to applications for permission of more than 6 months, so a visitor does not pay it and does not get the hospital treatment that comes with it. Student and work visa holders pay it — £776 a year for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility and under-18s, £1,035 a year for everyone else — and get NHS hospital treatment on the same terms as an ordinary resident, though prescription and dental charges still apply to them too.
Should I buy travel insurance for my UK visit?
Nothing in the visitor rules requires it, and GOV.UK does not make it a condition of a visit visa. What is true is that hospital treatment you need while here is charged at 150% of the national NHS rate and the bill follows you, so the cost of an unplanned admission is yours unless something else covers it.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.