Reasonable measures are taken to pursue overseas visitors' debt and international debt recovery agencies will be employed.
Patients should be aware that under immigration rules 320, 321, 321A and 322. a person with outstanding debts of over £1,000 for NHS treatment that are not paid within three months of invoicing, may be denied a further immigration application to enter or remain in the UK.
In the absence of prompt, full settlement or a reasonable repayment schedule, non-clinical information relating to the debt is provided routinely to the Home Office and may be used by the Home Office to apply the above immigration rules. The information will remain active for the purpose of the above rules until the debt is settled and a record of the settled debt will also be retained, both subject to normal limitation periods.
In the event that a person may seek entry to the UK or make an advance immigration application after settling an NHS debt in the previous three months, they are advised to retain and carry evidence of payment for potential examination by Home Office officials.
