SHAPEHome / Countries / United Kingdom / Migrant healthcare
Healthcare for migrants in The United Kingdom
SHAPE's editorial comparison places migrant healthcare access in the United Kingdom in the middle category (Warning). Entitlement: Residence-based secondary care; free primary and specified public-health care.
Middle category
Provider type: NHS / public health services / NGO · International migrants (2024): 11,845,479
- Access rule: Primary care registration and specified public-health services are available without ordinary-residence status; HIV diagnosis and treatment are free, while many hospital services are residence based and chargeable.
- Main barriers: Charging rules, proof requests, fear of data use, language and uncertainty about exemptions can delay secondary care.
- Migration measure: UN DESA estimates 11,845,479 international migrants at mid-year 2024. This is a point-in-time stock, not the number of people who arrived during 2024. The estimate is based on the foreign-born population. Refugee, asylum-seeker or refugee-like population data are incorporated where indicated by UN DESA.
- Origin definition: The origin shares below use country or area of birth for foreign-born estimates and country of citizenship for foreign-citizen estimates. They do not establish a person's nationality, ethnicity, language, reason for migration, legal status, recent-arrival status or undocumented status.
- Measurement basis: Foreign-born population + refugee/asylum adjustments (UN DESA code B R)
- Evidence note: ECDC indicators use 2024 reports: the foreign-born share is calculated only among diagnoses with known origin; late diagnosis is the country-level share with CD4 <350 cells/µL and is not migrant-specific. Data Unavailable means no sufficiently interpretable value was published; a blank is not zero. The status is an editorial comparison of legal entitlement and practical access and does not apply equally to every migrant group.
More about the United Kingdom
Neighbouring countries
Based on public, cited sources and SHAPE's review. Rules and prices change, so please confirm with the national authority or a professional. Found an error? Tell us.