Petition · past parliament
Scrap the immigration health surcharge for NHS staff and social care workers.
Rejected
12 signatures
What the petition asks
Immigrant NHS support staff and social care workers are among our low-paid workers, and they are in many cases risking their lives to protect us all from Covid-19. Yet they are being asked to pay a surcharge (which will increase to £624 in October) to use the NHS themselves.
It is only the Government that can scrap this surcharge. What is the point in applauding our NHS staff and carers every week if we then demand that - out of their meagre salaries, on which they already pay taxes and national insurance - they pay a surcharge to use NHS services?
Why it was rejected
The UK Government or Parliament was already taking the action it asked for.
Since you started your petition the Prime Minister has asked the Home Secretary and the Department of Health and Social Care to work together to exempt NHS and care staff from the immigration health surcharge.
We have published the following petition, which you might like to sign:
Reduce or scrap the immigration health surcharge for overseas NHS Staff: Reduce or scrap the immigration health surcharge for overseas NHS Staff.
Exempt overseas nurses from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge: Exempt overseas nurses from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge
Reimburse international NHS workers the cost of the NHS surcharge this year: Reimburse international NHS workers the cost of the NHS surcharge this year.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
We have published the following petition, which you might like to sign:
Reduce or scrap the immigration health surcharge for overseas NHS Staff: Reduce or scrap the immigration health surcharge for overseas NHS Staff.
Exempt overseas nurses from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge: Exempt overseas nurses from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge
Reimburse international NHS workers the cost of the NHS surcharge this year: Reimburse international NHS workers the cost of the NHS surcharge this year.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
Timeline
| 21 May 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 5 Jun 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
12
Status
Rejected
Rejected
5 Jun 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.