Can IHS be refunded? Four situations for refund after permanent residency approval

IHS Standard annual fee £1,035, student and youth exchange rate £776. A three-year work visa with a one-time payment of £3,105, paid in full over five years for £5,175, the money is deducted from the card at the moment of online submission. Therefore, every time someone gets permanent residency approved, the back office receives the same question: the old visa still has two years remaining, can those two years of IHS be refunded?

Permanent residency approved, the remaining two years of the old visa IHS will be refunded?

does not refund.

The reason is that IHS's charging target is "time-limited licenses." Settlement applications have no expiration date. GOV.UK lists the application for permanent residency as a case not requiring payment in the IHS payment page, so the step of applying for permanent residency itself did not generate any IHS, let alone overpayment. As for the old visa fee, it was paid in advance for the entire period of the license; the GOV.UK refund page lists "leaving the UK before the visa is approved" and "transferring to a category exempt from paying IHS" as non-refundable cases. Applying for permanent residency earlier is considered not using up the entire period of the license, rather than the Home Office providing less time - these two situations are separate in the refund rules, and only the latter will result in a refund.

By the way: From April 8, 2026, the permanent residency application fee will be £3,226 per person, and it is non-refundable even if rejected.

Which several amounts will be refunded?

According to the rules, the only refund channels that truly exist are the following categories, and you don't need to take any action for the first four categories:

In the overlapping period, no refund will be given if it is less than 6 months.

This one is the easiest to miss, and the amount is also the largest. When renewing or transferring within the country, the new permit starts from the date of approval, while the old permit usually still has several months before it expires. During this time, you are essentially paying twice for the same period IHS.

Home Office"Immigration health surcharge" Case Guidance (10.0 Edition as of 30 September 2025) states in the section "Overlapping periods of temporary immigration permission" that such overlapping refunds are calculated in full 6-month units, rounded down: an overlap of 13 months would result in a refund for 12 months' worth of fees; an overlap of 5 months would result in a refund of 0. Moreover, the overlapping period is counted from the day the new permit is approved to the expiry date of the old permit, with the starting point being the decision date, not the day you submitted it online.

Convert to money: Standard plan for one year £1,035, overlapping for 6 months will be £517.50 returned to the card; if it's a few days short of 6 months, this amount will be zero.

So when choosing the date to apply for renewal, it's worth calculating this first. If you submit the application when the old permit has 8 months remaining, and it takes two months to get the result, the overlap will be around 6 months, right at the boundary. My judgment is: if the overlap is destined to fall within 6 months, submitting early to finish earlier won't gain any IHS, it just means paying the next payment earlier; if you really want to submit early, submit early enough so that the overlap definitely exceeds 6 months, or just follow the original plan. Expedited service will move the decision date forward, thereby extending the overlap period, which is also a variable to consider when calculating.

How long does the money take to arrive, and who should be contacted if it is delayed?

The process for GOV.UK is: full or partial refunds that meet the first five categories will be automatically processed, and the refund will be returned to the card or account used when paying the fee. It usually takes up to 6 weeks. If it hasn't arrived after 6 weeks, contact UKVI. Repeatedly asking during these 6 weeks will not speed it up.

Only in cases where the system failed to identify (wrong tier paid, incorrect rate calculated, or overcharged due to technical failure) should you manually submit the IHS refund application form. Before filling out the form, make sure you have all four items: IHS number (the string starting with IHS), visa application number, payment method and payment date, and the country where you submitted the application. Missing any one of them will cause the form to get stuck.

The only one you need to handle yourself IHS refund channel

This "Health and Social Care" route is two different things from the well-known "Health and Care Worker visa exemption for IHS", which are often confused. The former does not charge at the time of application; the latter is a refund channel for other visa holders who have already paid IHS, such as those working in NHS or regulated care organizations with a standard Skilled Worker, dependant, or student visa. These people still paid full IHS initially and can apply for a refund on a regular basis.

The conditions are very detailed: working for a qualifying organization, continuous employment in the same position for at least 6 months, and an average of at least 16 hours per week; if unemployment or unpaid leave exceeds 28 days during that 6-month period, that period does not count. Applications are made in 6-month segments, which can be traced back to after March 31, 2020, in the UK. Each 6-month segment requires a separate application, and it will not be automatic. You need to prepare the IHS number, national insurance number, employment contract, and 6 months' pay slips for that period. Those who have changed positions, worked part-time, or taken maternity leave may be unsure whether the 6 months count as continuous. They can pay £5 on justiscript.com to get a written response from a qualified lawyer in the UK within 24 hours for a specific question, which saves time compared to figuring it out by themselves.

Automatic refund also has a prerequisite; many people find out five years later.

It was mentioned earlier that the refund will be automatically returned to the original payment method. This statement is incomplete: the premise of returning to the original method is that the card is still valid. GOV.UK clearly states that the refund will be returned to the card or account used for the initial payment. From the first payment IHS until obtaining permanent residency, there is often a gap of five to ten years, and it is very common for people to have changed banks, closed old cards, or had their accounts managed by parents. When the card is no longer available, the refund will be stuck, and you need to contact UKVI separately to explain and provide proof of payment.

So the real small thing you can do right away is not to calculate how much can be refunded, but to record each time the IHS number, amount, and the last four digits of the payment card into your permanent residency file. You won't be able to get the money back at this step of permanent residency, but the portion that should have been returned to your card during previous renewals needs a place to go.

This document is for reference only. For specific issues, please consult a licensed attorney.

[Data source] GOV.UK "Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application: Refunds" https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/refunds ; Home Office "Immigration health surcharge" caseworker guidance v10.0 (30 September 2025) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-health-surcharge-caseworker-guidance ; GOV.UK "Get an immigration health surcharge refund if you work in health and care" https://www.gov.uk/apply-immigration-health-surcharge-refund

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