If you’re coming to the UK for longer than six months you will need to pay the mandatory immigration health surcharge (IHS). It's full name is the International Health Surcharge (IHS) and by paying the surcharge, it will give a person the same access to the UK's National Health System (NHS) as a resident of the UK. A person will however still need to pay for certain types of services, such as prescriptions, dental treatment, eye tests and assisted conception.

The UK government has announced that the IHS will increase effective October 2020. The IHS will increase from GBP£400 to GBP£624 per year. The discounted rate which applies to students, their dependents and Youth Mobility Scheme applicants will increase from GBP£300 to GBP£470 per year. The surcharge will also be set at £470 for all children under the age of 18.

It will however now also apply to EEA nationals who intend to move to the UK after the Brexit transition period.

This surcharge increase will affect visa categories such as UK Settlement/Family visas, UK Work visas, UK Ancestry visas and UK Study visas to name a few.