Yes, you can get a mortgage on a Health and Care Worker visa. Several UK lenders will consider you, and a few require no minimum UK residency and no minimum time remaining on your visa at all. The harder question is usually not whether you qualify but how much of your income a lender will count, because bank shifts and overtime are treated very differently from basic salary.
Key takeaway: Most guides on this topic are written for doctors on a Skilled Worker visa. If you work in adult social care rather than a hospital, some lenders' criteria read differently for you, and it is worth knowing which before you apply rather than after.
[[stats: 95% = Maximum LTV available with some lenders | None = Minimum UK residency required by some lenders | None = Minimum time left on your visa, with some lenders | 5 years = Typical Health and Care Worker visa length | Unlimited = Overtime hours allowed in your sponsored role | 20 hours = Second job hours permitted alongside it]]
What is the Health and Care Worker visa?
It is a route for qualified doctors, nurses, health professionals and adult social care professionals with a job offer from a Home Office approved sponsor in the NHS, an NHS supplier, or adult social care. It carries lower application fees than the standard Skilled Worker route and, unusually, no Immigration Health Surcharge.
The visa can be granted for up to five years before you need to extend it, and can be extended as many times as you remain eligible. Under current gov.uk guidance, after five years you may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
Good to know: Since 22 July 2025, care worker and senior care worker roles are no longer open to overseas recruitment. Those occupation codes remain available for extensions, updates and switches, so if you are already here in one of those roles you can continue and extend, but you cannot change employer as freely as you might assume. That matters during a mortgage application.
Which lenders consider Health and Care Worker visa holders?
More than most people expect, and several are notably more flexible than the high street. Here is what these lenders publish in their own intermediary criteria.
[[table: Lender | Maximum LTV | Minimum UK residency | Time left on visa ;; Hinckley and Rugby | 95%, or 90% if UK residency is under 12 months | None | None, though confirmation an extension will be sought is needed if under 6 months ;; The Nottingham | 90% with UK credit data, 75% without | None | None ;; Furness | 90% | 12 months | None ;; Chorley | Not published | 3-year rule disapplied for this visa | Minimum 1 year remaining ;; Perenna | 95% | 18 months | 12 months remaining ;; Metro Bank | 75% | Under 3 years considered with full underwrite | Not published]]
Criteria correct as at August 2026, taken from each lender's own published intermediary criteria. This area moves quickly, so it should be confirmed before you rely on it.
Two things stand out. Hinckley and Rugby, The Nottingham and Furness all name the Health and Care Worker visa specifically rather than lumping it in with Skilled Worker generally. And Hinckley and Rugby applies a minimum income requirement of £41,700 to most visa holders but waives it entirely for those working in the NHS, private hospitals or teaching roles, which is a significant carve-out if you are hospital-based.
By contrast, some lenders have no route here at all. Dudley Building Society requires UK citizenship, a qualifying nationality or indefinite leave, and Scottish Building Society accepts healthcare visa holders only where the applicant is a medical doctor. Knowing who to avoid saves a wasted application.
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How much deposit do you need?
It depends heavily on how long you have been in the UK and which lender you approach.
[[accordion: Less than 12 months in the UK|Your options are narrower but not closed. Hinckley and Rugby publishes no minimum UK residency requirement, capping at 90% LTV where residency is under 12 months, which means a 10% deposit. The Nottingham also publishes no minimum time in the UK. ;; More than 12 months in the UK|The range widens considerably, and 95% LTV becomes available with some lenders, meaning a 5% deposit. A UK credit history built over that period helps significantly. ;; No UK credit history at all|This is a bigger constraint than the visa itself for many applicants. The Nottingham publishes 90% LTV where UK or qualifying overseas credit data exists, dropping to 75% where it does not, so a thin file can cost you a larger deposit. ;; Buying with a British or settled partner|This often opens up mainstream lenders at mainstream rates. Some lenders will disregard a second applicant's visa status where the first applicant holds a UK passport, while still using the visa holder's income. ;; Your deposit is coming from overseas|Lenders will want to evidence the source of funds carefully, and requirements vary. Start gathering that evidence early, since it is a common cause of delay rather than decline.]]
How lenders treat bank shifts, overtime and second jobs
This is where the real difficulty sits for care sector applicants, and it is the part almost nobody writes about.
The immigration rules are generous. Gov.uk confirms there is no limit on overtime hours in your sponsored role, and you do not need to update your visa to work bank shifts for your NHS sponsor. You may also work up to 20 hours a week in a second job, subject to conditions on what that job can be.
Lenders are considerably less generous. That gap between what you are permitted to earn and what a lender will count is the single most important thing to understand before you apply.
[[table: Income type | Hinckley and Rugby | Metro Bank ;; Overtime, bonus and commission | 50% with 2 years' evidence, or up to 100% with 1 year under Income Flex | 60% ;; Bank or locum work | 1 year's evidence, or 6 months under Income Flex | Accepted for nurses only, at 60% as a second job ;; Second job | 50%, or 100% under Income Flex, maximum 55 hours a week | 100% with a 6-month track record ;; Zero-hours contracts | 3 years' evidence and 75% LTV, or 12 months and 80% under Income Flex | Not accepted]]
Criteria correct as at August 2026, from each lender's own published criteria.
The practical consequence: someone earning £28,000 basic with another £8,000 of bank shifts may find one lender counting £32,800 and another counting nothing at all from those shifts, depending on how long they have been doing them. Choosing on that basis, rather than on the headline rate, is often what decides whether the purchase works.
What if you work in adult social care rather than a hospital?
Worth flagging separately, because the guidance you will find online is written almost entirely for doctors and nurses.
Where a lender publishes an income concession for healthcare workers, read the wording carefully. Hinckley and Rugby's minimum income waiver, for example, is expressed as applying to those working in the NHS, private hospitals or teaching roles. Whether a care home role falls inside that is not something to assume from a summary, and it is exactly the kind of question worth having answered before an application rather than during one.
The same applies to bank shift treatment. Metro Bank's published position accepts bank work for nurses specifically. If you are a care assistant picking up additional shifts, that concession may not extend to you.
None of this makes a mortgage unlikely. It makes lender selection matter more than it does for almost any other applicant.
Settlement, ILR and what it means for your mortgage
Current gov.uk guidance is that five years on this route may lead to indefinite leave to remain. Many applicants plan on that basis, assuming they will hold ILR before their first fixed rate ends.
That assumption deserves more caution than it used to. The government consulted during 2025 and 2026 on reforming settlement, including proposals for a longer qualifying period. At the time of writing those proposals have not been brought into the Immigration Rules, so the current five-year route stands, but the direction of travel is worth factoring into how far ahead you plan.
We are mortgage advisers, not immigration advisers. For anything turning on your own immigration position, check gov.uk directly or take proper immigration advice, and treat this section as context rather than guidance.
How much could you borrow?
Most lenders work somewhere between 4.5 and 6 times income, with a broad base at the lower end and a smaller pool prepared to stretch further. Enter your own figures for an indication, remembering that additional income may be counted only in part.
[[calc:borrowing]]
What documents will you need?
[[steps: Your visa and share code|Physical biometric residence permits are no longer issued, so you will generally prove your status through a UKVI account share code. ;; Your certificate of sponsorship|Confirming your sponsor, role and salary. ;; Payslips|Usually the last three months, and more where additional income such as bank shifts needs evidencing. ;; P60s|Particularly where a lender averages additional income over one or two years. ;; Bank statements|Typically three months, showing income arriving and regular outgoings. ;; Proof and source of deposit|Where the money has come from, with additional evidence if any of it originates overseas.]]
Where to start
The most useful first step is an agreement in principle with a lender chosen for your circumstances. It uses a soft credit search, so it leaves no mark on your file, and it tells you where you actually stand.
For the wider picture on visa mortgages generally, including how lenders treat time remaining and which documents prove your status, see our complete guide to getting a mortgage on a Skilled Worker visa. If you work for the NHS, our NHS mortgages guide covers pay structure in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get a mortgage on a Health and Care Worker visa?
Yes. Several UK lenders consider applicants on this visa, and some name it specifically in their published criteria. A few require no minimum UK residency and no minimum time remaining on the visa.
How much deposit do you need on a Health and Care Worker visa?
It varies by lender and by how long you have been in the UK. Some lenders will consider up to 95% LTV, meaning a 5% deposit, while others cap at 90% or 75% where UK residency is short or there is no UK credit history.
How long do you need left on your visa to get a mortgage?
With some lenders, no minimum at all, although one asks for confirmation that an extension will be sought where less than six months remain. Others require a full year remaining, so it depends entirely on which lender you approach.
How long do you need to have lived in the UK?
Some lenders publish no minimum UK residency requirement. Others want 12 months, 18 months or three years, and a longer UK credit history generally widens your choice and improves the terms available.
Do lenders count bank shifts and overtime?
Often only in part. Published criteria range from 50% to 100% of that income depending on the lender and how long you have been earning it, and some require a full year or more of evidence before counting it at all.
Can care workers get a mortgage, or is it only NHS staff?
Care workers can be considered, but read lender concessions carefully. Some income waivers and bank shift allowances are worded around NHS, hospital or nursing roles specifically, which may not extend to adult social care.
Are mortgage rates higher for visa holders?
Not necessarily. Where you meet a mainstream lender's criteria you would generally be offered its standard rates. Rates tend to be higher only where circumstances push you towards a specialist lender.
Can you buy with a partner who has a different immigration status?
Yes, and it often helps. Some lenders will disregard a second applicant's visa status where the first applicant holds a UK passport, while still using the visa holder's income in the affordability assessment.
Does a Health and Care Worker visa lead to settlement?
Under current gov.uk guidance, after five years you may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain. Settlement rules have been under review, so check gov.uk for the current position rather than relying on any article.
Can your deposit come from overseas?
Usually yes, though lenders will want to evidence the source of funds carefully and requirements differ. Gathering that evidence early avoids delays later in the process.
What happens to your mortgage if your visa is extended?
An extension does not affect a mortgage that has already completed. Your obligation is to the lender under the mortgage contract, and that is unaffected by the renewal of your leave to remain.
Do you need to be on the electoral roll?
It is not a requirement, but being registered where you are eligible helps lenders verify your identity and supports your credit file, which can widen your options.
Written by Toby Quanstrom CeMAP, Director at Quanstrom Financial, a whole-of-market mortgage broker based in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
This article is for information only and does not constitute personal advice or immigration advice. Lender criteria and immigration rules change regularly, so please get in touch for guidance based on your own circumstances.
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