Healthcare
One of things the UK is most proud of is its National Health Service - the NHS. It was created 70 years ago to make healthcare freely available to everyone and now has over 1.7 million staff, making it the largest employer in the UK. It also provides training and world-leading research. It is funded through taxation.
Although you can get emergency or temporary care for free, to take full advantage of the NHS services if you have arrived under the BNO visa, you will need to pay for access through the Immigrant Health Surcharge. The best way to do this is to find the nearest GP (doctor) surgery to where you live and make an appointment to register. You will need some proof of ID and address.
The NHS system is slightly different in different parts of the UK. To find out how to register with a GP, click here for England, here for Scotland, here for Wales, and here for Northern Ireland.
Alternatively, you could pay for private healthcare or take out healthcare insurance. Despite having arguably the world’s best free healthcare system, the UK has many excellent private healthcare providers.
There are NHS dentists in most towns, but places are limited and you may be asked to pay for treatment and checkups. If you go to A&E, a walk-in clinic or out-of-hours service, be prepared to wait several hours to be seen.
