Overseas Visitors

Overseas Visitors:  Entitlement to Treatment

Entitlement to free NHS care is based on whether an individual is ordinarily resident in the UK.  This can be demonstrated through proof of residency (visa or passport), proof of a UK address for the previous 12 months, and wage slips and/or a contract of employment.

overseas visitors

Being previously registered with a GP, having an NHS number, NI number or even a British passport does not automatically qualify someone for free NHS treatment:  it is proof of residency which is essential here.  It is the responsibility of the patient to prove that they qualify for treatment by demonstrating their residency status by documentary proof of entitlement.

 

Residents of European Union Countries

(list below) are entitled to free treatment if it becomes necessary during a temporary stay in the UK, providing they can show a EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) or passport. 

Level of Care: Treatment which a GP decides is medically necessary.  This  EXCLUDES elective treatment or the treatment of pre-existing conditions which in the medical opinion of the GP can wait until they return to their home state

  • Austria
  • France
  • Malta
  • Belgium
  • Germany
  • Netherlands
  • Bulgaria
  • Greece
  • Poland
  • Croatia
  • Hungary
  • Portugal
  • Cyprus (not North)
  • Ireland (Republic)
  • Romania
  • Czech Republic
  • Italy
  • Slovakia
  • Denmark
  • Latvia
  • Slovenia
  • Estonia
  • Lithuania
  • Spain
  • Finland
  • Luxembourg
  • Sweden

Residents of countries with whom the UK has a Reciprocal Agreement (list below) are entitled to free treatment if it becomes necessary during a temporary stay in the UK, providing they can show a passport or residency card. 

Level of Care: Entitled to “immediately necessary” treatment only

  • Anguilla
  • Gibraltar
  • Montserrat
  • Armenia
  • Isle of Man
  • New Zealand
  • Australia
  • Israel
  • Russia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Jersey
  • Serbia
  • Barbados
  • Kazakhstan
  • St Helena
  • Belarus
  • Kosovo
  • Tajikistan
  • Bosnia
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Turkmenistan
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Macedonia
  • Turks & Caicos Islands
  • Falkland Islands
  • Moldova
  • Ukraine
  • Georgia
  • Montenegro
  • Uzbekistan

If you are unable to provide the correct proof of entitlement or you are not from one of the above countries, charges for treatment will apply.

The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015

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