You can do additional paid work on a Health and Care Worker visa as long as you’re still doing the job you’re being sponsored for. You can also do unpaid voluntary work.

You may need to apply to update your visa to do additional paid work. This will depend on the type of work you’re doing and the hours you’re going to work.

According to the Home Office website, if your extra job is also eligible for a Health and Care Worker visa you can work as many hours as you like without updating your visa.

If your job is not eligible for a Health and Care Worker visa, you can still work up to 20 hours a week if the job is in a shortage occupation.

Check if your job is on the list of:

• healthcare and education shortage occupations
• all other shortage occupations

You’ll need to update your visa if you’re going to either:

• get a job that’s not an eligible Health and Care Worker visa job or in a shortage occupation
• work more than 20 hours in a job in a shortage occupation that’s not eligible for a Health and Care Worker visa.

To apply, you’ll need to:

• get a new certificate of sponsorship from your second employer
• include a letter with your application explaining that you want to change your current permission to stay

Update your visa if you change job or employer

You’ll need to apply to update your Health and Care Worker visa if:

• you want to change your job and your new job is with a different employer
• your job changes to a different occupation code, and you’re not in a graduate training programme
• you leave a job that’s on the shortage occupation list for a job that is not on the list

The same conditions apply to Tier 2 Health and Care visas issued before 1 December 2020.

You do not need to apply again if you stay in the same job, but your job is taken off the shortage occupation list.

Working after 27 August 2023

From 27 August 2023, you’ll only be able to do up to 20 hours of additional paid work without updating your visa. The job will need to be either:

• in the same occupation code and at the same level as your main job
• in a shortage occupation

If you want to instruct me, please email donm@queensparksolicitors.co.uk or queensparksolicitors@gmail.com or call us on 07446 888 377. My name is Atty Magsino of Queen’s Park Solicitors. I am a UK qualified lawyer and solicitor.