Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the draft Immigration (Health Charge) Amendment Order 2023, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed increase to the immigration health surcharge on affected people's ability to access health and care services.
An Impact Assessment and an Equality Impact Assessment were both published alongside the draft Order.
Payment of the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is a mandatory visa requirement. It is paid by migrants applying to come to the UK for more than six months, and those who are already in the UK applying to extend their stay.
Payment of the IHS entitles migrants to access the NHS on broadly the same basis as a permanent UK resident for the duration of their visa, from the date their visa is granted.