Getting NHS treatment

This page tells you about treatment on the NHS if you are from overseas. There is information about

Who is entitled to NHS treatment
If you live in the EEA or Switzerland
Bilateral agreements with other countries
Emergency treatment

The cancer information nurses at Cancer Research UK are often asked about access to treatment in the UK for people who live overseas. Generally, you can only be treated on the NHS if you are a permanent resident of the UK. There are a few exceptions. You and your children can normally have NHS treatment if you are not a permanent resident, but have applied for asylum here. And you are usually eligible if you have come here to marry someone who is a UK resident.

If you are a UK passport holder, but non resident, you can be treated for any condition that arises while you are here on holiday. This means that you cannot come here intending to get treatment for a condition you already knew you had.

There is helpful information about this on the following websites

If you live in a European Economic Area country, or Switzerland, then you may be able to be treated here if the treatment you need is not available where you live. You would need a special form (E112 or E123) which you get from your own doctor. The countries included in this arrangement are

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus (not Northern Cyprus)
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

Some countries may pay for their residents to come to the UK for treatment. They have what is called a bilateral, or reciprocal, agreement with the UK government. Again this is only likely to happen if a particular treatment is not available where you live. The countries that currently have a reciprocal agreement with the UK for their nationals and UK nationals who are resident there are

Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bosnia
Croatia
Georgia
Gibraltar
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Macedonia
Moldova
Montenegro
New Zealand
Russia
Serbia
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan

If you are a resident of these countries, regardless of your nationality, you may also qualify

Anguilla
Australia
Barbados
British Virgin Islands
Falkland Islands
Iceland
Isle of Man
Montserrat
St. Helena
Turks and Caicos Islands

You can check to see if your treatment can be sponsored by your Government from your own Government health department.

The Department of Health website has a section on overseas visitors' health rights in the UK that you may find useful.

If you are visiting the UK and need urgent treatment you can call an ambulance or go to a hospital accident and emergency department. All treatment given in accident and emergency departments is free.