Immigration health surcharge (IHS) calculator
£1,035 per person per year, £776 for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility applicants and children; part years are charged by halves.
Health surcharge for your family
Total to pay when you apply
£9,561
Partner or spouse, outside the UK · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026
| Person | Fee | Surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| Main applicant | £2,064 | £3,105 |
| Child 1 | £2,064 | £2,328 |
| Application fees | £4,128 |
| Health surcharge (2 years 9 months) | £5,433 |
| Total | £9,561 |
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
The immigration health surcharge is the amount most visa applicants pay, on top of the application fee, to use the NHS during their stay. It is £1,035 per person for each year of the visa, and £776 for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility Scheme applicants and anyone under 18 on the day of the application. It is not charged on visitor visas, on settlement applications, or to Health and Care Worker visa holders and their families, and an application from abroad for six months or less pays nothing. Part years follow a simple rule: six months or less counts as half a year, more than six months as a full year, so a visa of 2 years and 9 months costs three years of surcharge, £3,105 for an adult. The calculator above gives the surcharge for each person of your family, next to the application fees, and the table below shows the common lengths.
Surcharge by length of visa
| Length of the visa | Adult, from abroad | Adult, in the UK | Child or student |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months | £0 | £517.50 | £0 |
| 1 year | £1,035 | £1,035 | £776 |
| 18 months | £1,552.50 | £1,552.50 | £1,164 |
| 2 years | £2,070 | £2,070 | £1,552 |
| 2 years 6 months | £2,587.50 | £2,587.50 | £1,940 |
| 2 years 9 months | £3,105 | £3,105 | £2,328 |
| 3 years | £3,105 | £3,105 | £2,328 |
| 5 years | £5,175 | £5,175 | £3,880 |
The only difference between the two adult columns is the first line: from inside the UK, a grant of six months or less still costs half a year. Everywhere else the surcharge depends only on the length and on who applies.
Who does not pay
The surcharge is not due on an application for indefinite leave to remain or enter, on any visitor visa, or on an application from abroad for six months or less. Health and Care Worker visa holders and their dependants are exempt, which is a large part of why that route is the cheapest way into a health or social care job. Applicants under the EU Settlement Scheme, asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, people applying as stateless, and dependants of the UK armed forces are also exempt, among others listed by GOV.UK. A settlement applicant who is granted only limited leave must pay the surcharge before the leave is issued.
Holding private health insurance does not remove the surcharge, and paying it does not cover everything: prescriptions in England, dental treatment, eye tests and assisted conception are charged as they are to residents.
Refunds
The whole surcharge comes back if the visa is refused, if you withdraw before a decision, or if you paid twice for the same application. Part of it comes back if you are granted less time than you asked for, if a dependant is refused, or if a new in-UK grant overlaps a period already paid by six months or more, in which case the refund is rounded down to the nearest six months. Nothing is refunded if you leave early, do not travel, or switch to a route that is exempt. Refunds go to the card that paid, usually within six weeks of the decision.
Two groups can claim money back afterwards: full-time students from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein who hold a European health card and do not work, and people who worked in health or care for at least six months on a visa for which they paid the surcharge. The cost calculator adds the surcharge to every fee, and the fee table lists the fees themselves.