Healthcare for International Students

Some treatment provided by the UK's National Health Service (NHS) is free for everyone:

• accident and emergency services (but not follow-up treatment, or admission as an in-patient to hospital)
• family planning services
• diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections
• diagnosis and treatment of certain infectious diseases
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) tests and treatment, as well as vaccination against coronavirus. The National Health Service has detailed information about coronavirus on its website. 
• treatment of conditions caused by torture, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, or sexual violence (provided you did not come to the UK for the specific purpose of seeking such treatment)
• compulsory psychiatric treatment or treatment that has been ordered by a court
• treatment in prison or immigration detention

For other treatment, there are fees for “overseas visitors”, including students, but in practice most students do not need to pay.

If you are entitled to NHS treatment, the following will be free of charge:

• Free consultation with your GP
• Free hospital treatment in Accident and Emergency
• Free hospital treatment if your GP recommends it
• Free contraceptive services
• Free maternity care

You will need to pay for:

• Medicines prescribed by your GP (referred to as prescription costs)
• Some GP services (e.g. vaccinations for travel)

To access NHS Services, you will need to be registered with a GP surgery. You can find more information on how to register with the GP here.

‘Secondary’ health care services, such as hospital treatment are free to people who are ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, i.e., living lawfully in the UK without a time-limit on their stay. 

Otherwise, treatment is free if:

• you paid the immigration health surcharge (IHS) for your current immigration permission.
• you applied for your current immigration permission before the immigration health surcharge was introduced on 6 April 2015.
• You are an EEA or Swiss National with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
• you are a resident of the Republic of Ireland or a national of a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with the UK, or
• you have been granted or applied for asylum, humanitarian protection or temporary protection.

A baby born in the UK to a parent who has paid the IHS or obtained their leave before the IHS was introduced are covered for free NHS treatment up to the age of 3 months.

You should have obtained a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) in your home country before coming to the UK if you are from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. This card entitles you to access medically necessary NHS treatment during a temporary stay.

If you have ‘pre-settled’ or ‘settled’ status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you can continue to use the NHS for free. 

EEA / Swiss nationals arriving in the UK on or after 1 January 2021 would pay the IHS as part of their immigration application and cannot rely solely on an EHIC.

If you come to the UK on a visa for up to 6 months, you are not required or able to pay the IHS.  It is advisable to obtain travel / medical insurance before you arrive in the UK.

If you are an international student and your course is longer than 6 months, you need to pay the immigration health surcharge as a part of your visa application. The full amount will be paid upfront for the duration of your visa.

You may be eligible for a full or partial refund if you meet the criteria. For more details about payment and refunds visit the UK Government Website

Immigration Health Surcharge refund for students

You may be entitled to a full or partial refund of your immigration health surcharge payment if all the following are true:

• you are a full-time student in UK higher education
• your visa started on or after 1 January 2021
• you have an EHIC issued in an EU country
• you do not work in the UK

If you intend to apply for a refund of your immigration health surcharge payment, you should use your EU EHIC for medically necessary treatment during your studies.

Once you have received your refund, you may have to pay for any NHS healthcare you receive that is not deemed medically necessary.

If you obtain an immigration health surcharge refund you should not work in the UK. Working in the UK is likely to invalidate your EHIC and you could be charged for NHS treatment.

More information about the surcharge is available on this government page.

If you paid the immigration health surcharge for your current visa, you will not have to pay additional hospital fees.

If you are an “overseas visitor” and not exempt, you will be charged 150% of the standard NHS rate for hospital treatment.

If you are on a Visitor visa or Short-term Study visa, you cannot pay the IHS, so you must have private health insurance from the start of your stay.

UKCISA have more information about hospital fees.

The NHS app allows you to access a range of services including:

• Booking appointments
• Viewing your medical record.
• Ordering repeat prescriptions.
• Checking symptoms.
• Access vaccination records (including COVID-19)

Even if you are entitled to free NHS treatment in the UK, you may wish to take out private medical insurance, and you can find more information about Private Health insurance on the UKCISA website.