IHS Refund When Skilled Worker Dependant Later Switches to Main Applicant

[simongates]

Hi everyone,

I need some help understanding the rules around switching dependant visas and the IHS (Immigration Health Surcharge).

A bit of background:

My wife was on a Student Dependant Visa with me.

I have since switched to a Skilled Worker Visa, valid until 2028.

We plan to switch my wife to Skilled Worker Dependant Visa soon.

We will pay the application fee and the IHS (as required) when we apply.

Here’s my question:

If my wife later finds a job in the UK and gets a Skilled Worker Visa in her own right, and then I decide to switch to being her dependant, will the IHS we paid for her Skilled Worker Dependant Visa be refundable by UKVI?

My understanding so far:

The application fee is non-refundable.

The IHS may be refundable if not used.

But I want to confirm whether:

The IHS paid for the Skilled Worker Dependant visa can be refunded if she later switches to her own Skilled Worker visa.

Any caveats or timelines (e.g., must withdraw the application or switch within a certain time).

Whether this applies even though the visa would have been issued and potentially even used.

Thanks in advance for any clarity!

[secret.simon]

This may answer some of your questions.

Overlapping periods of temporary immigration permission
An applicant will be entitled to a partial refund of the IHS paid where they apply for a further period of temporary immigration permission from within the UK, where the existing period of immigration permission has in excess of 6 months remaining at the point the further visa application is granted.

To be eligible for a refund of an overlapping period of immigration permission, an applicant must:

have paid the IHS twice covering the same period of immigration permission
have applied to extend their immigration permission from within the UK
have more than 6 months remaining on their existing period of immigration permission from the date the further temporary immigration permission is granted
All partial IHS refunds for overlapping periods should be processed by the current caseworker against the IHS reference number associated with the initial period of immigration permission which the applicant is switching from. For example: if an applicant is switching from a Student visa onto a Skilled Worker visa in-country, the IHS refund should be processed by the Skilled Worker decision maker against the IHS reference number for the Student visa. Where the applicant has several previous IHS reference numbers, you must ensure that the IHS is refunded against the IHS reference number associated with the visa which the applicant has switched from.

For example: if an applicant was granted a Graduate route visa valid between 01 January 2024 and 01 January 2026 and was subsequently granted a Skilled Worker visa on 01 December 2024 valid until 01 December 2027, the overlapping period would be calculated from the date the Skilled Worker visa was granted until the expiry of the Graduate visa.

In this instance the overlapping period would be between 01 December 2024 and 01 January 2026. The overlapping period would be 1 year 1 month, as such the applicant would be eligible for a partial IHS refund of 1 year.

To determine the overlapping period, you must use the date the further extension is granted and the expiry date of the initial visa.

Where the expiry date of the initial visa granted exceeds the expiry date of the visa extension, you must refund the period between the date that the visa extension is granted and the expiry date of the initial visa.

For example: if the applicant has a Student visa valid between 01 January 2024 and 01 January 2028 and is granted a visa on the Graduate route valid between 01 December 2025 and 01 December 2027 a refund should be processed for the period between 01 December 2025 and 01 January 2028 on the IHS reference number associated with the Student visa.

Once the overlapping period has been calculated, you should select ‘overlapping payment’ to process the IHS refund against the initial IHS reference number. If the applicant has received a partial refund through the Health and Care reimbursement scheme, you must determine what period the individual has claimed reimbursement for before processing a refund for an overlapping period.

Reimbursements on the Health and Care reimbursement scheme are processed in 6-month periods. Cases where a partial refund has been processed on the Health and Care reimbursement scheme, will have partial refunds authorised by NHS BSA.

To determine the period that the applicant has been reimbursed, you must contact NHS BSA for confirmation of the period that the applicant has received reimbursement for.

The reimbursements the applicant has received may cover the same period of time as the overlapping period. Migrants are only able to be reimbursed the IHS once for the same period.