INTERNATIONAL PATIENTS - ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE
HEALTHCARE
Under the current Regulations, anyone who comes to the UK
to pursue a full-time course of study of more than six months' duration,
or a course of study that is of any duration but is substantially funded
by the UK Government, will be fully entitled to free NHS hospital treatment
in England. This exemption will apply to your spouse and children (under
the age of 16, or 19 if in further education) if they are living permanently
with you in the UK for the duration of your course.
Students studying less than six months from countries with
which the UK holds bilateral healthcare agreements:
Students studying in the UK for less than six months from
countries with which the UK holds bilateral healthcare agreements will
only be entitled to free NHS hospital treatment that is needed promptly
for a condition that arose after their arrival in the UK. This exemption
will apply to your spouse and children (under the age of 16, or 19
if in further education) if they are living permanently with you in
the UK for the duration of your course
Full list of bilateral healthcare agreement countries: European Economic Area countries (EEA): Nationals from the following countries: |
Students studying less than six months who
are not from countries with which the UK holds bilateral healthcare
agreements:
If you are here to study for less than six months on a course
that is not substantially funded by the UK Government and are from
a country with which the UK does not hold a bilateral healthcare agreement,
then you will be chargeable for any treatment you receive, unless you
meet the criteria for one of the other exemptions.
In common with those ordinarily resident in the UK, anyone who meets the criteria of ordinary residence or is exempt from charges will have to pay statutory NHS charges, eg prescription charges, unless they also qualify for exemption from these, and will have to go onto waiting lists for treatment where appropriate
If I should need hospital treatment what documents will I
need?
The Regulations place a responsibility on individual hospitals
to determine whether, in accordance with the Regulations, a patient
is liable to be charged for treatment or not. In order to establish
entitlement, hospitals can ask you to provide documentation that supports
your claim that you intend to study in the UK. It is for you to decide
what to supply, however examples of evidence could include:
- if not an EEA national or from Switzerland then you should have
a valid student visa or
- if EEA national or from Switzerland, proof of nationality - passport,
EEA residence card
proof of attendance on a qualifying course of study, or that such a course of study has recently been completed - confirmation from university or college or: proof of attendance on a substantially UK government funded course
- confirmation letter from government body confirming successful candidate and confirmation of attendance from university or college
Am I entitled to access Primary Care Services?
Any person living here lawfully and on a settled basis is
regarded as resident in the UK and therefore entitled to free primary
medical services. On taking up residence in the UK it is advisable
to approach a GP practice and apply to register onto its list of NHS
patients. The practice may choose to accept or decline your application.
An application may be refused if the practice has reasonable grounds
for doing so, such as if you are living outside their practice area.
A practice would not be able to refuse your application on the grounds
of race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance,
disability or medical condition. If you experience problems finding
or registering with a practice please contact the local Primary Care
Trust
Do I have to pay for emergency treatment if I have an accident?
Regardless of residential status or nationality, emergency
treatment given at Primary Care Practices (a GP) or in Accident and
Emergency departments or a Walk-in Centre providing services similar
to those of a hospital Accident and Emergency department is free of
charge
In the case of treatment given in an Accident and Emergency department or Walk-in Centre the exemption from charges will cease to apply once the patient is formally admitted as an in-patient (this will include emergency operations and admittance to High Dependency Units) or registered at an outpatient clinic
Am I entitled to help with the costs of non-emergency NHS
treatment?
For information on help with health costs please see HC11
'Are you entitled to help with health costs?' that is available from
main post offices, social security offices and NHS hospitals. HC11
is also available on the Internet at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/80/85/04078085.pdf
Please note the above information gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of law. In all cases the Regulations place the responsibility of deciding who is entitled to receive free hospital treatment with the hospital providing treatment
You may find the following PDF document links helpful:
Update
on EU Enlargement & Overseas Visitors rights to Primary Care Treatment
in the UK
Source: www.leedsstudentmedicalpractice.co.uk
NHS
Direct 0845 46 47 www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
