Department Of Health
About the IHS
If you begin a course of study in the UK that is longer than 6 months, you must pay the immigration health surcharge (IHS) as part of your visa application.
Find out more about paying for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application.
If your course of study is 6 months or less, you do not need to pay the IHS.
IHS reimbursement for students
From 1 January 2022, you can apply to get back the money you paid for the IHS. This is called an IHS reimbursement.
If you get a reimbursement, you will not be able to get as much free healthcare in the UK. You should carefully consider all the information on this page before deciding whether to apply for a reimbursement.
Once youve received a reimbursement, you must present your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) in order to get urgent medically necessarily healthcare in the UK during the period covered. You may be charged for state healthcare if it is not considered medically necessary.
You cannot repay the reimbursement if you change your mind or your circumstances change.
If youre a student from the EU, your reimbursement will be backdated to include any surcharge payments made for a visa starting on or after 1 January 2021.
If youre a student from Switzerland, your reimbursement will be backdated from 1 November 2021 even if your visa started earlier.
Who can apply
You may be entitled to a full or partial reimbursement of your IHS payment if:
- youre a full-time student in UK higher education
- your UK visa started on or after 1 January 2021
- you have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued from an EU country or Switzerland
- you do not work or do not intend to work in the UK
Higher education is:
- level 4 and above in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
- level 7 and above in Scotland
Your family members, including your spouse, civil partner and dependent children, can also get an IHS reimbursement if they:
- are in the UK on a visa that started on or after 1 January 2021
- hold a valid EHIC
- do not work and do not intend to work in the UK
You can only make an application if youre the student eligible for reimbursement.
You can apply for family members as part of your application. If a family member needs to make a separate application for example, because they arrive in the UK at a later date they should contact the NHS Business Services Authority by email at: nhsbsa.ihsstudents@nhsbsa.nhs.uk.
How much IHS reimbursement youll get
To get a full IHS reimbursement, make sure that your EHIC is valid for the length of your visa. If your EHIC only covers part of your stay in the UK, youll receive a partial reimbursement.
If your EHIC does not cover the whole of your stay, you can make an application for the amount of IHS covered by your EHIC. If you renew your EHIC, you can then apply for a further reimbursement. To make your first application, you must have had at least 6 months left on your EHIC when your visa started.
You may not be able to get an IHS reimbursement for any periods in which you didnt have a valid EHIC.
How to apply
The application takes about 30 minutes to complete.
To make an application, you need your:
- full name as it appears on your passport
- date of birth
- 9-digit IHS number, which you can find in your confirmation email from WorldPay the number starts with IHS, for example, IHS123456789
- visa share code this code lets you prove your visa status to others
- UK address
- email address
- scanned copy or photo of your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
- scanned copy or photo of your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) statement or university acceptance letter
Youll also need all of the same details for any family members youre applying for.
The type of visa you are on does not affect your eligibility for the UK scheme.
However, its possible that your country may not consider your EHIC to be valid if you move to the UK on certain types of visa for example, as a dependent of another visa holder.
If you apply to the scheme and youre not on a student visa, youll need to show evidence that your EHIC is still valid. For example, this could be confirmation from your countrys health authority.
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Answer the questions. Upload scans or photos of documents as evidence to support your application.
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Complete and submit your application. Then well send you an email with your application reference number to confirm that youve applied.
Deadlines for applying
If you arrived in the UK between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021, you must apply for a repayment reimbursement by 31 December 2022.
If you arrive in the UK from 1 January 2022, youll have a year to apply from the start date of your visa.
You should apply for your reimbursement as soon as possible after arriving in the UK. This will help you to have all the relevant documents you need to make an application. It also means we can give you important information about using your EHIC to get medical treatment.
After you apply
Well send you an email to let you know if well repay your IHS or not.
Well pay the money back to the original payment card or bank account used to pay the IHS fee. If someone else paid the IHS for you (such as your university), well repay the money to their bank account.
You cannot repay the reimbursement if you change your mind or your circumstances change. You should carefully consider all the information on this page before deciding whether to apply for a reimbursement.
If you work or plan to work in the UK
A student is only eligible for an IHS reimbursement if they do not work during the time the IHS covers.
You need to carefully consider whether you intend to work in the UK before deciding whether to apply for a reimbursement.
This is because, if you work in the UK, your EHIC will no longer be valid as your home country will no longer be responsible for your healthcare while youre in the