UK Medical Visit Visa from Pakistan: Treatment, Organ Donor and Companion Rules (2026)

Which medical visits does the UK allow?

The UK does not have a standalone medical visa. Medical visits sit inside the Visitor route, and the Rules allow three kinds. The permitted activities table in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities says, at PA 16.1, that a visitor may receive private medical treatment if the extra requirements in V 7.1 to V 7.3 are met. The GOV.UK Standard Visitor page sets out the three routes.

• Private treatment at a hospital or other medical facility, which the patient pays for.
• NHS treatment under a reciprocal healthcare arrangement, where the patient's own government pays under an agreement with the UK. This is rare for Pakistani applicants, and you would need an authorisation form from your government.
• Organ donation to a family member or close friend, including being assessed as a possible donor match.

Every route needs the same starting point: the genuine visitor test in rule V 4.2. You must leave the UK at the end of the visit, have enough money, and do only what the Rules permit. A medical reason does not replace those conditions.

Pakistan appears on the visa national list in Immigration Rules Appendix Visitor: Visa national list, so a Pakistani passport holder needs entry clearance before travelling to the UK for any purpose.

What must a private treatment applicant prove?

GOV.UK lists five things. You must prove that you have a medical condition that needs private consultation or treatment in the UK, have made arrangements for it, have enough money or funding to pay for it, will leave the UK once treatment is finished or the visa expires, and are not a danger to public health if you have an infectious disease.

Funding

Rule V 4.2(e) requires "sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs" without working or using public funds, and it names the cost of planned activities such as private medical treatment. Funds must be held in a financial institution permitted by the Finance appendix. A third party, for example a sibling in the UK, can cover travel, maintenance and accommodation under V 4.3 if they have a genuine personal or professional relationship with you, are not in breach of immigration law and can and will support you for the whole stay.

Public health

Under V 7.1, if you have a communicable disease you must satisfy the medical inspector that you are not a danger to public health. Disclose such a condition honestly. Concealing it is a far bigger problem than the condition.

The return plan

Treatment must be of a finite duration. An open-ended arrangement with no end date reads as a reason to stay. The V 7.2(a)(ii) wording asks for the estimated cost and likely duration of treatment, which is why the doctor's letter matters so much.

What must the doctor's letter say?

Rule V 7.2 requires you to have arranged the treatment before you travel and to provide a letter from your doctor or consultant in the UK. The letter must state three things: the medical condition requiring consultation or treatment, the estimated costs and likely duration, and where the consultation or treatment will take place. GOV.UK repeats these three points.

A checklist for the letter

• Written on the hospital or clinic letterhead by a UK doctor or consultant.
• Patient's full name and date of birth, matching the passport.
• A clear diagnosis or condition, in language a caseworker can follow.
• Proposed consultation or procedure and why it needs to happen in the UK.
• An itemised cost estimate and how and when it will be paid.
• Expected length of stay, appointment dates and follow-up plan.
• Facility name and address, with contact details for verification.

Where Pakistani applicants go wrong

The commonest weakness is a vague letter. "Patient requires treatment" does not meet the Rules. A letter that gives no cost figure or no end date leaves the caseworker to guess. Another weakness is a gap between the clinical story and the finances: a procedure estimated at a high figure with a bank balance that cannot cover it.

Records from Pakistan help: referral letters from your treating doctor, test results, imaging reports and a summary of previous treatment. They show why UK care is sought and prove the condition is genuine. Translate anything not in English and keep originals for the border.

When do you need the 11-month visa?

If treatment will take more than six months, you cannot rely on a standard six-month visit. Rule V 17.2 of Appendix V: Visitor allows entry clearance of up to 11 months for private medical treatment, against up to 6 months for other Standard Visitors, and GOV.UK gives the same two limits.

To obtain the 11-month entry clearance, rule V 7.3 adds a requirement. You must provide evidence from your UK doctor or consultant that the proposed treatment is likely to exceed 6 months but not more than 11 months. For NHS treatment under a reciprocal arrangement, the government authorisation form must state the same. GOV.UK also says all visits for medical treatment lasting longer than 6 months need a Standard Visitor visa regardless of nationality.

The price differs from the ordinary visit visa. As of 9 November 2026, the GOV.UK Standard Visitor page and the fees regulations both list the Standard Visitor visa for private medical treatment, which lasts more than six months and up to eleven months, at £234. We treat this as a firm but two-source figure. As of 9 November 2026, the GOV.UK Standard Visitor page lists the standard fee at £135 for a stay of up to 6 months, which is the right product for a short consultation or a brief course of treatment.

Apply for the right length from the start. A six-month visa for a treatment plan that obviously runs longer invites questions, and an extension from inside the UK carries its own fee, set out on the GOV.UK Standard Visitor page.

Does a Pakistani patient need a TB test?

Often, yes, for the long visa. Pakistan is on the GOV.UK list of countries where a TB test is needed, and rule V 7.3(b) of Appendix V: Visitor requires a valid TB screening certificate from the applicant for an 11-month medical visit visa where Appendix Tuberculosis applies; the Home Office page on approved clinics in Pakistan lists the clinics that can issue it.

GOV.UK's general rule is that you need a test if you are coming to the UK for 6 months or more and have lived in a listed country for 6 months or more within the last 6 months. The test is a chest x-ray, and if the result is unclear you may be asked for a sputum sample. A certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of the x-ray, so time the test close to your application. Children are seen by a clinician who decides whether an x-ray is needed.

The clinic list on GOV.UK shows adult TB test fees of roughly PKR 14,000 to PKR 15,000 and child fees of roughly PKR 10,000 to PKR 11,000, depending on whether you use IOM or AMC, and clinics may change these, so confirm when you book. The clinic page shows clinics in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Mirpur, with operating hours and what to bring. Our separate guide on the TB test for UK visas from Pakistan covers booking and documents in more detail.

How does the organ donor route work?

GOV.UK states that you can only visit the UK to donate organs to a family member you are genetically related to, such as a sibling or parent, or to someone you have a close personal relationship with, such as a partner or friend. You must prove the recipient is legally allowed to be in the UK. Rule V 8.1 requires you to genuinely intend to donate to, or be assessed as a possible donor for, an identified recipient with whom you have a genetic or close personal relationship.

The letter you need

You need a letter from the lead nurse of the transplant team, a General Medical Council registered specialist or a registered NHS consultant. It must confirm that you are a donor match or are being tested, that you are genetically related or in a close personal relationship, and when and where the transplant or tests will take place. For organ donors, GOV.UK says the supporting letter from the transplant team should be dated no more than 3 months before you intend to arrive in the UK.

If the recipient is not legally resident in the UK

You must give the recipient's name, nationality and date of birth in your application, and the recipient should check whether they need a Standard Visitor visa and meet the medical treatment requirements themselves.

Can a relative or carer travel with the patient?

The Rules do not create a separate visa for a carer or companion. Each person who needs a visa applies separately, pays the fee and is judged on their own facts under rule V 4.2. A spouse, parent, adult child or friend travelling to support a patient applies as a Standard Visitor and must show a genuine, temporary purpose, their own funds or a qualifying third-party supporter, and ties that bring them home.

What strengthens a companion's file

• A hospital letter naming the patient and, where it applies, noting that a family member's support during treatment is expected.
• Proof of the relationship, such as a family registration certificate or birth certificate.
• Evidence of the companion's own job, leave and responsibilities in Pakistan.
• A realistic plan for accommodation and for the length of the stay.

Children travelling alone or with a parent must meet the extra requirements for children in the Rules, including adequate arrangements for their travel and care. A companion's refusal does not automatically affect the patient's application, and the reverse holds too, but the same facts often sit in both files, so keep them consistent.

What does it cost?

The visa fee is only a small part of the budget. Treatment is the main cost, and the UK does not hand out an NHS shortcut to private patients. Plan for the following.

Do not borrow a lump sum to produce a high balance for the application. Reviewers look at the history of the account, and a deposit with no explanation is a common refusal ground. If a relative is paying, document their income and the relationship as required by rule V 4.3.

What if treatment runs longer than planned?

You may be able to extend. GOV.UK says patients receiving medical treatment can apply to stay in the UK for longer than 6 months from inside the UK, and Appendix V rule V 15.1 asks the applicant to show that the costs of treatment already received have been met and to provide a letter from a registered medical practitioner, a hospital consultant on the NHS consultant post or the Specialist Register, describing the condition requiring further treatment. Apply before your permission expires, and read the fee and steps on the official page rather than relying on figures quoted in forums.

If you are refused, see our guides to UK administrative review and UK judicial review of a visa refusal for the limited options, and note that a new application with fresh evidence is often more realistic than a challenge.

What does a realistic case look like?

This is an illustration, not a prediction. A 52-year-old woman from Lahore needs a planned orthopaedic procedure and rehabilitation at a private hospital in London. The consultant's letter estimates a cost and a seven-month treatment and recovery plan, so she needs the 11-month visa.

The file works because the medical story, the money and the return plan agree with each other. Remove the cost estimate, or the end date, and it would not.

Which mistakes cause refusals?

• A doctor's letter with no cost estimate, no location or no likely duration.
• Applying for six months when the treatment plan runs longer.
• Funds that do not match the cost of treatment and living expenses.
• Sudden deposits with no explanation.
• Missing TB certificate for the 11-month visa.
• Concealing an infectious condition.
• Undeclared earlier refusals.
• Using a medical reason as cover for a plan to stay.
• Poor translations or mismatched names across passport and medical records.

Frequently asked questions