IHS PAYMENT REFUND: In fact, the repayment process for Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is an automatic one.

As such, there is no special process needed because it’s refunded to the account, or credit card, used to pay the fees.

Some reasons for receiving a full UK IHS refund include situations whereby the:

• Applicant makes two (2) payments.
• Home Office refused application for visa.
• Applicant withdraws their visa application.

In some cases, you may only get part of the money refunded. Hence, the IHS partial refund usually occurs when a visa application is successful, but the Home Office:

• Grants a shorter visa time than the one requested by the applicant.
• Refuses to grant a visa to dependants who also applied on the same visa application.

There are some situations that mean you will not get an IHS payment refund from the Home Office in the United Kingdom.

Typical circumstances for being declined an IHS refund would be if:

• A visa application is successful, but the applicant fails to enter into the United Kingdom.
• You apply for indefinite leave to remain (or change to another visa that is exempt from IHS payment).
• The applicant leaves the United Kingdom before the visa ends (e.g. to make a new visa application).
• United Kingdom authorities instruct you to leave the country before the actual visa expires.

Note: New measures mean some medicines are no longer available on the NHS (e.g. low value treatments). GPs are telling patients to get prescriptions for common illnesses from a pharmacy instead.

---

Healthcare Paid by an EU Country

Having an S1 certificate (e.g. registered with the NHS Business Services Authority) means you may qualify for a partial or full IHS refund.

The same also applies if you (all):

• Are a full-time student who is studying in UK higher education (e.g. not working).
• Have a visa that started since the 1st of January 2021.
• Have a European Healthcare Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by one of the European Union countries.

Full-time students (with an EHIC) can apply for a refund of the IHS paid to cover periods starting since the 1st of January 2021 (applications accepted from 1st January 2022).

Note: The Department of Health and Social Care produces further guidance about healthcare for EU citizens and EFTA nationals living in (or moving to) the United Kingdom.

---

---

Delays for Appeals or Administrative Reviews

In some cases, the time that it takes to claim the IHS reimbursement will depend on which country you applied from:

• Inside the United Kingdom: Once your appeal or administrative review gets dismissed you should get a refund within six (6) weeks afterwards.
• Outside the United Kingdom: If your visa application gets refused you should get a fee refund within six (6) weeks afterwards.

You would need to repay IHS if an appeal or administrative review is successful and you already received the IHS refund.

Furthermore, you may also need to repay a different amount, such as if:

• The length of your stay in the United Kingdom changes.
• You get less time granted on your UK visa than you actually requested.

---

---