Upcoming Release: Immigration Health Surcharge Reimbursement Data

In the coming weeks, the latest performance data for the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) reimbursement scheme will be published to the open data portal for the first time.

The data will be published on the NHSBSA Open Data Portal on 9 September 2024 and will be updated quarterly.

Who is publishing?

On behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Overseas Healthcare Services (OHS) manage reciprocal healthcare for people travelling to and from most European countries. The team looks after a variety of services in relation to reciprocal healthcare and also deliver the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) reimbursement scheme.

IHS for students

The student reimbursement scheme, introduced in January 2022, enables entitled students who meet the criteria from EU countries or Switzerland to receive a reimbursement.

The IHS reimbursement scheme helps eligible students get the IHS reimbursement that they are entitled to. More information about claiming an IHS reimbursement for students, and the eligibility criteria, can be found here.

IHS for health and care workers

The health and care workers reimbursement scheme, launched in October 2020, provides eligible workers with a reimbursement every six months (paid in arrears) while they are employed in health and care.

IHS reimbursement scheme supports the Government in ensuring that relevant health and care workers receive the IHS reimbursement that they are entitled to. More information about claiming an IHS reimbursement for health and care workers, and the eligibility criteria, can be found on the gov.uk website.

What are we publishing?

There will be two separate datasets uploaded, covering two aspects of the service: IHS reimbursement scheme for students and HIS reimbursement scheme for health and care workers. Both dataset releases will include three out of the four mandatory key performance indicators (KPIs) for the Immigration Health Surcharge reimbursement scheme. The KPIs include:

1. completion rate - This shows the number of digital transactions (applications) that users complete as a percentage of all digital transactions that users start

2. digital take-up - This is the percentage of people applying for the scheme online compared to other channels

3. user satisfaction - This is measured to understand what users think of the service and identify any areas for improvement

Why are we publishing?

In March 2023 the NHSBSA IHS reimbursement team passed a live service assessment with the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO). It’s important that we publish data to comply with the CDDO, but it also allows us to be transparent about the performance of services which are funded by public money.

Get in touch

If you have any queries regarding the payment of your IHS reimbursement and you applied more than eight weeks ago, or you are on a Skilled Worker visa and made an application prior to 1 May 2024, please email ihsreimbursements@nhsbsa.nhs.uk

If you have any queries in advance of this dataset being published, please contact the Open Data team: DataServicesSupport@nhsbsa.nhs.uk

Datasets will be available from the below links, which will work from 9 September 2024 after publication:

IHS Students Reimbursement Scheme Performance Data

IHS Health and Care Reimbursement Scheme Performance Data