Nurse visa: pay band, fees and which nursing code applies
A staff nurse (SOC 2237) qualifies when paid at least the full-time rate of the job's Agenda for Change band: £29,970 at Band 5 in England. Choose the band in the checker.
Nurse salary check: choose your pay band
Minimum salary for this job
£25,000
Your salary of £31,000 meets it, with £6,000 to spare.
| Points option K | £25,000 floor |
| Going rate (full time) | £24,071 |
| Going rate per hour | £12.34 |
| Your pay per hour | £15.90 |
| 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
Nurses are sponsored on the Health and Care Worker visa, the reduced-fee version of the Skilled Worker route. Code 2237, "other registered nursing professionals", is in Table 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations: it is higher skilled and open to applicants from abroad, and its going rate is not a single figure but the national pay scale. The salary must reach the full-time rate of the Agenda for Change band the post is graded at, for the nation where you will work, and at least £25,000. Band 5 is £29,970 in England, £31,892 in Scotland, £30,420 in Wales and £28,407 in Northern Ireland, all for 37.5 hours. The visa fee is £324 for up to three years with no immigration health surcharge, so a nurse bringing a partner and one child for three years pays £972 instead of £10,995 on the standard route. The checker opens on Band 3, the first line of the scale: pick the band written on your offer.
Verdict for code 2237
Code 2237 is eligible from abroad and from inside the country, with no shortage list involved: it is in Table 3, it is not a medium skilled code, and it is not on the Immigration Salary List. The going rate is the band, so two posts in the same code can face different thresholds: if one is graded Band 5 and another Band 7, both are 2237 jobs, but the second needs the Band 7 rate. Its example titles are clinical lead nurse, matron (care/residential home), nurse, nurse educator, occupational health nurse, staff nurse, team leader (nursing) and ward manager.
| Band | England | Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 5 | £29,970 | £31,892 | £30,420 | £28,407 |
| Band 6 | £37,338 | £39,912 | £37,898 | £35,392 |
| Band 7 | £46,148 | £48,788 | £46,840 | £43,742 |
The rate is pro-rated for part-time hours. A Band 5 post in England at 30 hours needs £25,000, which is above the £25,000 floor, so the band remains the test. Unsocial-hours enhancements and overtime do not count towards it; only guaranteed basic pay does.
Which nursing code the employer chooses
Seven nursing codes share the same rules and the same Agenda for Change rates. The employer must pick the one that matches the duties; 2237 is the general code for ward and staff nurses when no specialist code fits better.
| Code | Occupation | Example titles |
|---|---|---|
| 2231 | Midwifery nurses | Delivery suite manager, Midwife, Midwifery manager |
| 2232 | Registered community nurses | Community care nurse, District nurse, Health visitor |
| 2233 | Registered specialist nurses | Advanced primary care nurse, Intensive care nurse, Clinical nurse specialist |
| 2234 | Registered nurse practitioners | Health care practitioner, Mental health practitioner, Practitioner (nursing) |
| 2235 | Registered mental health nurses | Community mental health nurse, Psychiatric nurse |
| 2236 | Registered children’s nurses | Community children’s nurse, Neonatal nurse, Paediatric nurse |
| 2237 | Other registered nursing professionals | Clinical lead nurse, Matron (care/residential home), Nurse |
Nursing auxiliaries and assistants are a separate code, 6131, which is also eligible for the Health and Care visa and is on the Immigration Salary List; it is a different job from a registered nurse post and is tested on its own rules.
English, records and documents
The visa asks for English at level B2. A nurse or midwife who has already passed an English language assessment accepted by the relevant professional regulator does not need a separate Secure English Language Test for the visa, and nationals of majority English-speaking countries are exempt. From outside the country you also need a criminal record certificate from each country where you have lived for 12 months or more in the last ten years (since your 18th birthday if you are under 28), and a tuberculosis test if your country is on the list. GOV.UK asks that you are a qualified nurse; which professional registration the post itself requires is a matter for the employer and the regulator, and this page does not cover it.
Cost and family
Each family member pays the same Health and Care fee, £324 for up to three years or £628 for longer, and nobody pays the surcharge. Nursing is a higher skilled occupation, so the restrictions on dependants that apply to care workers do not apply: a partner and children can come with you from the start. You need £1,270 of your own savings unless the employer certifies maintenance on the certificate of sponsorship or you have already lived here for 12 months. After 5 years you can apply to settle; the ILR calculator works out the earliest date.