UK Introduces Health Surcharge For Visitor Beginning April 6

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (Bernama) -- Beginning April 6, all nationals from outside Europe, including Malaysians, who come to stay in the United Kingdom (UK) for more than six months will be required to pay a health surcharge in order to gain access to the UK's National Health Services (NHS). The British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur stated in a statement, Friday, that the changes will ensure that those coming to live in the UK make an appropriate financial contribution to the cost of their healthcare. "The health surcharge will be £150 per year (£1=RM5.46) for students and £200 per year for other individuals. "It will be payable at the time that an individual submits his or her visa application on-line. "Visa applicants will need to pay up-front for the total period of their UK visa," stated the statement. Currently non-European nationals working, studying or joining family members receive free medical treatment under the UK's NHS. It added that the changes will not affect visitors going to the UK on a visit, and visitors will continue to have to pay for any treatment they receive from the NHS at the point they receive it. The surcharge levels are lower than the cost of medical insurance required in some of the British competitor nations, and for overseas students, the surcharge represents only one per cent of the total cost of studying in the UK for a three-year undergraduate course. "Having paid the surcharge, migrants will have the same access to the NHS as a UK permanent resident for the duration of their visa. The money generated from the health surcharge will go directly to funding the NHS," it added. More information on the health surcharge can be obtained from http://www.gov.uk/government/world/malaysia or http://bit.ly/UKHealthSurcharge. -- BERNAMA