NHS Trusts That Sponsor UK Work Visas (2026 List)

There are over 200 individual NHS trusts and foundation trusts across the UK, and the vast majority hold active sponsor licences. This includes acute hospital trusts, community trusts, mental health trusts, ambulance trusts, and specialist trusts. In addition, NHS England, NHS Blood and Transplant, Health Education England, and various integrated care boards (ICBs) also hold licences.

The number of organisations on the register can be slightly confusing because some large NHS foundation trusts — which gained independence from NHS England — appear separately, as do their subsidiary bodies. When searching for NHS sponsors, it is worth being aware that a 'group' you know as a single hospital system may appear under multiple registered names.

Beyond the NHS itself, independent healthcare providers contracted to deliver NHS services may also hold sponsor licences — these include organisations like Spire Healthcare, HCA Healthcare, and BMI Healthcare, as well as smaller independent providers delivering NHS-commissioned services.

Not all NHS trusts use their sponsor licences equally. Some large teaching hospital trusts issue hundreds of Certificates of Sponsorship every year as part of structured international recruitment programmes, often working with specialist nursing and healthcare recruitment agencies overseas. Others hold licences but issue very few CoS, relying primarily on domestic recruitment or EU-based staff.

CoS volume is therefore the most important signal when prioritising NHS sponsors. A trust that has issued 100+ CoS in the past year has an established international recruitment infrastructure — they know the process, they have relationships with international recruiters, and they are likely to have current or upcoming vacancies in internationally recruited specialties.

Trusts with low or zero CoS activity in the past 12 months are not necessarily bad employers, but they signal that international recruitment is not currently a priority. Targeting them may require more proactive outreach — contacting their HR or workforce teams directly to ask about international recruitment plans.

NHS roles — including registered nurses, radiographers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, and paramedics — use the Health and Care Worker visa route. For these roles, the applicable salary threshold is the occupation-specific going rate (set at the 25th percentile of salaries for the occupation), not the general Skilled Worker threshold of £41,700. This makes it possible for trusts to sponsor at NHS Agenda for Change band salaries. The old Shortage Occupation List (SOL), which gave a 20% going rate discount (allowing employers to pay 80% of the going rate), was abolished on 4 April 2024 — this discount no longer applies.

The Immigration Salary List and Temporary Shortage List are reviewed periodically by the Migration Advisory Committee. The ISL lowers the general salary floor (to £33,400) for eligible roles but does not reduce the occupation-specific going rate — employers must still meet the full going rate. Registered nurses (SOC 2231) are assessed against the occupation-specific going rate for SOC 2231 under the H&CW route; an absolute minimum salary floor of £25,000 applies across all routes. Always verify the current going rate for your code at gov.uk.

For allied health professionals, the position varies by specific occupation code. Radiographers, occupational therapists, and other AHPs are typically eligible under the H&CW route with their own occupation-specific going rates. Use the VisaAtlas SOC Code Intelligence tool to check the going rate for your specific code and whether it currently appears on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List.

The VisaAtlas sponsor search allows you to filter by healthcare and NHS sector, combined with a city or region filter, to build a list of NHS organisations in your preferred location. You can then sort by CoS activity to prioritise the trusts most actively using their licences.

When searching, consider also filtering for A-rated sponsors only. While most NHS trusts maintain A-ratings, it is not universal, and a B-rated trust carries compliance risk that could affect your continued right to work if their licence were revoked.

Regional variation in NHS sponsorship is significant. London NHS trusts tend to have the highest absolute CoS volumes. Large teaching hospitals in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, and Newcastle also issue significant numbers. Community NHS trusts and mental health trusts may have lower volumes but can be excellent employers with strong support for internationally recruited staff.