How to work as a UK Healthcare Assistant if you are from Ghana

Healthcare Assistants assist healthcare professionals in supporting their patients through the recovery process. They provide personal care as well as ensuring their patients’ dignity and personal comfort. 

If you are from Accra, Kumasi or elsewhere in Ghana and wish to work as a Healthcare Assistant in the UK, you need to arrange certain paperwork before you can work in the UK. 

This guide will help you prepare your application to work as a UK healthcare assistant.

What qualifications do I need to work as a Health Care Assistant (HCA) in the UK?

Most HCA training takes place while you are being supervised in the workplace. If you are a Ghanaian who wants to work as a Healthcare Assistant in the UK healthcare sector, you won’t need any specific mandatory qualifications.

However, if you have one or more of the following qualifications, they can really help to support your application:

• Care Certificate – click here to see details of our Care Certificate course
• Health and Social Care Diploma
• GCSEs at grades 9-4 
• SSCE or WAEC 

Do Ghanaians need a visa to work as an NHS Healthcare Assistant?

If you are Ghanaian and want to work in the UK healthcare sector, you should apply for the Health and Care Worker visa, a skilled worker visa that used to be called a Tier 2 work visa.

You will need to meet specific criteria, which include the following:

• You must be qualified to work in health care or adult social care.
• Your job must be eligible for this visa. 
• You must be working for a UK health and care sector employer that has Home Office approval for sponsorship
• Your salary must be minimum wage, currently at least £20,480 per year or the ‘going rate’ for your job role if that is higher

The Health and Care Worker visa is valid for up to five years. You will need to renew your visa if it expires or if you change jobs to work with a different employer.

How do I apply for a UK visa in Ghana?

Once you have been offered a job that meets the minimum salary requirements, your employer will need to check that you are eligible to work in the UK healthcare sector. 

If your employer hasn’t been approved for a sponsor licence yet, they will need to apply for one. This process can take around eight weeks.

After you have passed these checks, your employer will give you an electronic ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’ showing your job offer and employer details. You need to apply for your Health and Care Worker visa in Ghana within three months of the date on your certificate. 

Your application must include the following:

• Your Certificate of Sponsorship number 
• Proof that you have achieved CEFR level B1 in English*
• Your passport or equivalent evidence of identity
• Your job details, including your title, occupation code and payment details
• Your employer’s name, contact details and sponsor licence number 

*Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

How much money do I need to bring with me?

Applicants for a Health and Care Worker visa from Ghana must have a minimum of £1270 available. This needs to be available in your bank account for at least 28 days before you make your application and proves that you can cover your expenses for 30 days after your arrival. 

If your partner and children will be travelling to the UK with you, you will also need to be able to support them. The amounts you will need are:

• £285 to support your partner
• £315 to support one child
• £200 to support each additional child

If your employer is willing to support you during your first month in the UK, they can state this on your Certificate of Sponsorship.

The current UK visa fees in Ghana are £247 for less than three years or £479 if you plan to stay longer than three years.

Additional requirements to work as a Health and Care Worker from Ghana

You may need to provide several other documents as part of your visa application, including:

• Bank statements
• Confirmation of your relationship if your partner is travelling with you 
• A criminal record certificate from countries where you have been a resident
• A negative test for tuberculosis 

Full details of the UK Health and Care Worker Visa can be found on the UK Government website. 

If you want to work as a UK healthcare assistant from Ghana, the visa application process can be complex. Assistance from a reputable visa processing specialist can help you complete your application correctly and avoid delays.