Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to abolish the NHS surcharge for non-EU citizens who pay National Insurance contributions.

There are no plans to abolish the NHS surcharge for non-EU citizens who pay National Insurance contributions. The surcharge is intended to represent a fair and proportionate financial contribution to the NHS by migrants, corresponding with their temporary immigration status

Temporary migrants will not have built up the long-term relationship and contribution to the UK that a permanent resident has built up, and will build up, over the course of their lifetime.

It is, therefore, the migrant’s immigra-tion status that determines whether they pay the surcharge, not their tax contributions or their profession. The Government recognises, however, that temporary migrants contribute to the UK economy in a number of ways, including paying income tax and national insurance; these contributions are reflected in the surcharge levels, which are below the average per capi-ta cost to the NHS of treating temporary migrants.

The Immigration Health Charge does not apply to migrants granted indefinite leave to remain; those granted this status qualify for free NHS care if they are properly settled in the UK.