International healthcare hiring: what employers need to know
Plain-English information on the visa route, the sponsor-licence requirement, and the ethical-recruitment code. This is general information — not immigration advice, and not a recruitment service.
How GeraJobs operates: we publish adverts and information. We do not source candidates abroad, run recruitment campaigns, or place staff. As a matter of policy we provide information only and do not actively recruit from countries on the WHO 2023 Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List (which includes Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan, and Nepal, among others). Any individual who chooses to move does so of their own accord.
The Health and Care Worker visa
The Health and Care Worker visa lets eligible health and social-care professionals come to the UK to do an eligible job with an approved employer. To sponsor a worker on this route, an employer must hold a valid sponsor licence and issue a Certificate of Sponsorship. Eligibility, salary thresholds, and the list of eligible occupations are set by the Home Office and published on GOV.UK — always check the current rules there before acting.
Professional registration still applies
An overseas qualification does not remove UK registration requirements. Nurses must be NMC-registered, doctors must be GMC-registered, pharmacists must be GPhC-registered, and allied health professionals must be HCPC-registered before they can practise. Individuals from countries such as India, the Philippines, Egypt, the UAE, Ireland, and the EEA/EU may pursue that UK registration of their own accord; the process is theirs to complete, and the employer confirms it at offer stage.
For the clinician-facing side of these pathways — how individual professionals register with the GMC, NMC, GPhC, or HCPC — see the information guides on GeraClinic, which are written for individuals, not for recruiters.
The ethical-recruitment code
The UK Code of Practice for the international recruitment of health and social-care personnel sets ethical standards and references the WHO safeguards list of countries that should not be actively recruited from. Employers who hire internationally are expected to follow it. GeraJobs surfaces this information so that employers can comply — it is not a substitute for legal or immigration advice.
A simpler, honest alternative
Many UK healthcare vacancies are filled from candidates already in the UK with the right to work. Posting your role openly — with a clear salary and requirements — reaches those candidates directly, with no agency fee.
Questions
- Does GeraJobs recruit overseas healthcare workers for me?
- No. GeraJobs is a job board. We publish your advert and general information; we do not source candidates abroad, run recruitment campaigns, or place staff. As a matter of policy we provide information only and do not actively recruit from countries on the WHO 2023 Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List.
- What is the Health and Care Worker visa?
- It is a UK immigration route that lets eligible health and social-care workers come to the UK to do an eligible job with an approved employer. The employer must hold a sponsor licence and issue a Certificate of Sponsorship. Full eligibility is set out on GOV.UK.
- Do I need a sponsor licence to hire from overseas?
- To sponsor most overseas workers under the Health and Care Worker visa, the employer must hold a valid sponsor licence from the Home Office. This is an employer obligation, not something GeraJobs provides — apply through GOV.UK.
- What is the ethical-recruitment code?
- The UK Code of Practice for the international recruitment of health and social-care personnel sets out ethical standards and references the WHO safeguards list of countries that should not be actively recruited from. Employers hiring internationally are expected to follow it.
- Which countries are on the WHO safeguards list?
- The WHO 2023 Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List names countries — including Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan, and Nepal — that face the most pressing health-workforce shortages and should not be actively recruited from. We provide this information so employers can comply; we do not target these countries.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker visa — Eligibility, the sponsor-licence requirement, and eligible roles.
- GOV.UK — Code of Practice for international recruitment (health & social care) — The ethical-recruitment code and the reference to the WHO safeguards list.
- WHO — Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List 2023 — The list of countries not to be actively recruited from.
GeraJobs is a job board, not a recruitment agency and not a healthcare regulator. We do not register, vet, place, or supply staff, and we do not guarantee any number of applicants. Posting a role means publishing your own advertisement — hiring, right-to-work checks, DBS checks, and professional-registration checks remain the employer’s responsibility. Any international-hiring information on these pages is general guidance for individuals who choose to move of their own accord; as a matter of policy we provide information only and do not actively recruit from countries on the WHO 2023 Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List. Fees, pay scales, and immigration rules change — always confirm the current position with the relevant official source before acting. Facts reviewed July 2026.