Immigrants: Coronavirus

(asked on 2nd November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Health and Social Care, whether all foreign nationals living in the UK will be able to access free covid-19 related healthcare treatment during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 17th November 2020

Regulations came into force on 29 January 2020 to add Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) (now known as COVID-19) to Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015. This means there can be no charge made to any overseas visitor, including anyone living in the United Kingdom without permission, for the diagnosis, or, if positive, treatment, of COVID-19.

This information has been widely communicated to National Health Service staff and the public, including a public-facing message which has been translated into 40 languages.

Furthermore, migrants who are ordinarily resident in the UK are entitled to all NHS secondary care without charge and certain groups, such as asylum seekers, refugees and victims of modern slavery are exempt from charge under the Charging Regulations.

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