Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has evaluated the potential impact of granting Immigration Health Surcharge dependent exemptions based on occupational status while withholding equivalent relief from returning British citizens and their dependants.

Family members joining British citizens are subject to the same Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) framework as other migrants granted time-limited immigration permission. Liability for the IHS is determined by the immigration status of the applicant, not that of their UK-based sponsor. British citizens and those granted indefinite leave to remain are not subject to immigration control and are therefore not required to pay the IHS.

Family members joining British citizens or other settled persons apply in their own right under the family immigration routes and are not treated as having made a dependant visa application for immigration purposes. Where an individual qualifies for an occupational exemption (Health and Care Visa) in their own right, they may apply on that route and they and their dependants can benefit from the associated visa arrangements, including exemption from the IHS.

The Government keeps the IHS framework under review. In due course, the Government will set out a new family migration policy covering those seeking to bring family members to the UK, including British citizens, settled persons, work route migrants and refugees.