Applying for a visit visa for private medical treatment in the UK

If you want to come to the UK for a short time to receive private medical treatment, you can apply as a visitor for private medical treatment.

In order to come to the UK as a visitor for private medical treatment, you must be able to satisfy the following requirements as set out in paragraph 51 of the Immigration Rules:

You must be able to show that:

• The proposed course of treatment is of finite duration;
• You have made satisfactory arrangements for the necessary consultation or treatment at your own expense;
• You satisfied the Medical Inspector that there is no danger to public health if you are suffering from a communicable disease;
• You intend to leave the UK at the end of your treatment;
• You have sufficient funds to meet the estimated costs of your consultation or treatment;
• You can maintain and accommodate yourself without recourse to public funds;
• You can meet the cost of the return or onward journey;
• You do not intend to take employment or undertake a course of study in the UK;
• You do not intend to produce goods or services within the UK;
• You do not intend to marry or for a civil partnership, or to give notice of marriage or civil partnership during your visit;
• You are not in transit to a country outside the 'Common Travel Area' (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).

In addition, you must be able to provide satisfactory evidence of:

• Your medical condition and the consultation or treatment that you need;
• The estimated costs of the consultation or treatment;
• The likely duration of your visit;
• Sufficient funds available to you in the UK in order to meet the estimated costs.

If your application for entry clearance as a visitor for private medical treatment is successful, you will be granted permission to enter the UK for a maximum period of 6 months.

If you need to stay in the UK for more than 6 months in order to complete your treatment, you can apply to extend your stay if you meet the following requirements as set out in paragraph 54 of the Immigration Rules:

• You must be able to produce evidence from an NHS consultant or a medical practitioner who appears in the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council, providing full details of the nature of the illness, proposed or continuing treatment, frequency of consultations, probable duration of the treatment, details of the cost of treatment and confirmation that all expenses are being met and where treatment amounts to private visits to a consultant for a relatively minor ailment, details of the progress being made;
• You can meet any costs and expenses incurred in relation to your treatment in the UK;
• You are able and intending to meet the likely further costs of your treatment;
• You can continue to meet the requirements for visitors for private medical treatment.

If you would like further advice or assistance with making an application for entry clearance or extension of stay as a visitor for private medical treatment then please contact our immigration barristers in Covent Garden, London on 0203 617 9173 or by email info@richmondchambers.com