Doctor visa: the salary your grade must reach
For a doctor (SOC 2211 or 2212) the going rate is the national rate for the grade, set for a 40-hour week: £49,909 for a specialty registrar at ST1 or ST2 in England. Pick the grade and hours above.
Doctor salary check by grade and hours
Minimum salary for this job
£34,327.50
Your salary of £50,000 meets it, with £15,672.50 to spare.
| Points option K | £25,000 floor |
| Going rate (full time) | £36,616 |
| Going rate per hour | £17.60 |
| Your pay per hour | £25.64 |
| Visa fee, up to 3 years (outside the UK) | £819 |
| Health surcharge, 3 years | none if Health and Care visa |
Health or education occupation: going rate from the national pay scale (Table 3).
Calculated in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere. Not legal advice; not affiliated with the Home Office.
Published by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026, rules checked 13 October 2026
Doctors are sponsored on the Health and Care Worker visa in two occupation codes: 2211, generalist medical practitioners, and 2212, specialist medical practitioners, which uses the same rates. Both are in Table 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, open to applicants from abroad. The salary test has no single going rate. It takes the national rate for the grade of the post in the nation where you will work, from foundation year 1 up to consultant, and it assumes a 40-hour week rather than the 37.5 hours used for most jobs. In England the rates run from £36,616 for F1 to £105,504 for a consultant; in Scotland a consultant is £107,144, in Wales £106,000 and in Northern Ireland £94,127. Rotas longer than 40 hours raise the threshold in proportion, while basic pay is only counted for the first 48 hours. The visa fee is £324 for up to three years, with no health surcharge.
Verdict for codes 2211 and 2212
Both codes are higher skilled and in Table 3, so a hospital trust, health board, GP practice or other NHS sponsor can bring a doctor from abroad or switch one already in the country. Code 2211 covers titles such as doctor, general practitioner, house officer (hospital service), medical practitioner and physician; code 2212 covers specialists such as anaesthetist, consultant (hospital service), paediatrician, psychiatrist, radiologist and surgeon, and Appendix Skilled Occupations gives it no rates of its own: it uses those of 2211. Neither code is on the Immigration Salary List. The salary is tested under option K, against the pay scale for the grade, with a floor of £25,000; GOV.UK describes the new entrant and PhD reductions only for ten other health codes, not for doctors.
| Grade (England) | Rate for 40 hours |
|---|---|
| Foundation year 1 (F1) and equivalent | £36,616 |
| Foundation year 2 (F2) and equivalent | £42,008 |
| Specialty registrar (StR) at ST/CT1-2 and equivalent | £49,909 |
| Specialty registrar (StR) at CT3/ST3-5 | £61,825 |
| Specialty doctor and equivalent | £59,175 |
| Salaried General practitioner (GP) and equivalent | £73,113 |
| Specialist doctor and equivalent | £96,990 |
| Consultant and equivalent | £105,504 |
The four nations do not share a scale
Each nation has its own pay scale and its own grade names, and the checker reads the one for the nation you select. Scotland lists one specialty registrar rate, £45,504, where England splits it at CT3/ST3; Wales and Northern Ireland split it between core years and ST3 and above. A foundation year 1 post needs £36,616 in England, £34,500 in Scotland, £33,307 in Wales and £29,566 in Northern Ireland. A salaried GP post needs £73,113 in England and £76,079 in Wales. The nation is where the job is based, not where the employer has its head office.
Rotas: hours above 40 and the 48-hour limit
Because the doctors' rates assume 40 hours, a contract for more hours pushes the threshold up. A specialty registrar at ST1 or ST2 in England needs £49,909 at 40 hours but £54,899.90 at 44 hours and £59,890.80 at 48. Past 48 hours the rule cuts the other way: the going rate keeps rising with every contracted hour, but only the pay for the first 48 hours counts towards meeting it. When hours vary from week to week, the weeks above 48 hours can still count if the average over a regular cycle of up to 17 weeks stays at 48 or below (SW 14.3A). Supplements and allowances paid on top of basic pay are left out.
Fees, English and the extra work you may do
Each person pays £324 for up to three years and £628 for longer, inside or outside the country, and no surcharge. A doctor who has passed an English assessment accepted by the medical regulator does not need a separate test for the visa. From abroad you need a criminal record certificate and, from listed countries, a tuberculosis test. Once here, overtime in the sponsored job has no cap, other work of up to 20 hours a week is allowed in an eligible job, and a doctor who completes GP training may do four months of additional paid work. The Health and Care Worker visa page covers family members and settlement.