Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the future immigration system will allow temporary short-term workers on a 12-month visa from EU member states to access (a) primary care and to register with a GP, (b) NHS secondary care services; and whether those workers will be obliged to pay the health surcharge; and if he will make a statement.

Migrants coming to the UK for more than six months (other than, currently, EEA migrants) are required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge which gives them access to the full range of NHS services, with the exception of assisted conception services. We are considering whether these arrangements should apply to those coming under the proposed transitional temporary work route and will want to engage with businesses and employers on this point.

The Department of Health and Social Care is currently undertaking negotiations on the future of reciprocal healthcare agreements with EU member states following the UK’s exit from the EU.