The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2011
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2011/1556 |
2011 No. 1556
National Health Service, England
The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2011
Made 21th June 2011
Laid before Parliament 27th June 2011
Coming into force 1st August 2011
The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 175 and 272(7) and (8) of the National Health Service Act 20061, makes the following Regulations:
PART 1
INTRODUCTION
Citation, commencement and application
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2011 and come into force on 1st August 2011.
(2) These Regulations apply in relation to England2.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the National Health Service Act 2006;
“authorised child” means a child who—
(a) has been granted leave to enter the United Kingdom with a parent or legal guardian of that child for the purpose of the parent or legal guardian receiving a course of treatment in respect of which no charge may be made or recovered under regulation 13; or
(b) is a child of an authorised companion;
“authorised companion” means a person who has been granted leave to enter the United Kingdom to accompany a person who is obtaining a course of treatment in respect of which no charge may be made or recovered under regulation 13;
“child” means a person who is—
(a) under the age of sixteen; or
(b) a qualifying young person within the meaning of section 142 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19923(“child” and “qualifying young person”) or section 138 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 19924;
“Continental Shelf” except in reference to a designated area of the Continental Shelf means the seabed and subsoil of the submarine area (other than in the Baltic or Mediterranean Seas, including the Adriatic and Aegean, or the Black Sea), adjacent to the coasts, lying north of the latitude of 25 degrees north and between the longitude of 30 degrees west and 35 degrees east, of the territory (including islands) of—
(a) any country situated on the Continent of Europe; or
(b) the Republic of Ireland,
where the submarine area is outside the seaward limits of the territorial limits of those countries and the Republic of Ireland and is an area with respect to which the exercise by any of them of sovereign rights in accordance with international law is recognised by the Government of the United Kingdom;
“designated area of the Continental Shelf” means any area which is for the time being designated by an Order in Council under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 19645as an area within which the rights of the United Kingdom with respect to the sea-bed and subsoil and their natural resources may be exercised;
“NHS trust” means an NHS trust all or most of whose hospitals, establishments and facilities are situated in England;
“overseas visitor” means a person not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom;
“reciprocal agreement” means arrangements mutually agreed between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom for the provision of health care;
“relevant NHS body” means an NHS foundation trust, an NHS trust, a Primary Care Trust, a Strategic Health Authority or a Special Health Authority;
“relevant period” means the period from 9th July 2012 to 12th September 2012;
“relevant services” means (except in regulation 8(2)(c)) accommodation, services or facilities provided under section 3(1) of the Act (Secretary of State’s duty as to provision of certain services), other than primary dental services, primary medical services or primary ophthalmic services;
“ship or vessel” includes a hovercraft;
“treatment the need for which arose during the visit” means—
(a) diagnosis of symptoms or signs occurring for the first time after the visitor’s arrival in the United Kingdom; or
(b) treatment which, in the opinion of a medical or dental practitioner employed by or providing services to, the relevant NHS body, is required promptly for a condition which—
(i) arose after the visitor’s arrival in the United Kingdom;
(ii) became acutely exacerbated after the visitor’s arrival; or
(iii) but for the treatment would be likely to become acutely exacerbated after the visitor’s arrival.
(2) In calculating a period of residence in the United Kingdom for the purposes of these Regulations, any interruption by reason of temporary absence of not more than 182 days must be disregarded. The temporary absence cannot include an absence where the overseas visitor was not lawfully entitled to enter or remain in the United Kingdom.
PART 2
PROVISION FOR MAKING AND RECOVERY OF CHARGES
Obligation to make and recover charges
3.—(1) A relevant NHS body must make and recover charges from the person liable under regulation 4 where it provides an overseas visitor with relevant services and the condition specified in paragraph (2) applies.
(2) The condition specified in this paragraph is that the relevant NHS body having made such enquiries as it is satisfied are reasonable in all the circumstances, including in relation to the state of health of that overseas visitor, determines that the case is not one in which these Regulations provide for no charge to be made.
(3) A relevant NHS body that makes and recovers a charge in accordance with paragraph (1), must give or send to the person making the payment a receipt for the amount paid.
(4) Where—
(a)
(a) a relevant NHS body has determined that an overseas visitor is exempt from being charged for relevant services under these Regulations;
(b)
(b) that overseas visitor has received relevant services from a relevant NHS body as part of a course of treatment; and
(c)
(c) prior to the course of treatment being completed, a relevant NHS body determines that that overseas visitor is no longer exempt from being charged for relevant services under these Regulations
a relevant NHS body may not make and recover charges under paragraph (1) in respect of relevant services provided as part of that course of treatment during a period where the overseas visitor has remained in the United Kingdom without absence.
(5) Paragraph (4) does not apply where a relevant NHS body determines that a person is exempt from being charged for relevant services as a result of receiving fraudulent or misleading information.
Liability for payment of charges
4.—(1) The person liable to pay charges under these Regulations is, unless paragraph (2), (3) or (4) applies, the overseas visitor in respect of whom the relevant services are provided.
(2) Where an overseas visitor is employed to work on and for the purposes of a ship or vessel and is present in the United Kingdom in the course of such employment, the person liable to pay charges under these Regulations is the owner of the ship or vessel on which the overseas visitor is employed.
(3) Where an overseas visitor is employed to work on and for the purposes of an aircraft and is present in the United Kingdom in the course of such employment, the person liable to pay charges under these Regulations is the employer of that overseas visitor.
(4) Where an overseas visitor is a child to whom no exemption under these Regulations applies, the person liable to pay charges under these Regulations is the parent or legal guardian of that child.
Repayments
5.—(1) Where a sum has been paid in respect of a charge for relevant services by or on behalf of a person who—
(a)
(a) at the time that those services were provided was not an overseas visitor in respect of whom the charge was payable; or
(b)
(b) did not receive the services for which the charge was payable,
a claim for repayment of the sum may be made in accordance with this regulation.
(2) A person making a claim for repayment of a sum must provide to the relevant NHS body—
(a)
(a) the receipt for payment of the sum;
(b)
(b) a declaration in support of the claim signed by or on behalf of the claimant; and
(c)
(c) such other evidence in support of the declaration as the relevant NHS body may require.
(3) The relevant NHS body must repay to the claimant the amount of the sum if it is satisfied that the sum was not payable by virtue of these Regulations.
(4) For the purposes of this regulation, the relevant NHS body is the one to which the sum was paid.
PART 3
EXEMPTIONS
Services exempted from charges
6. No charge may be made or recovered in respect of any relevant services provided to an overseas visitor which fall within the following paragraphs—
(a) accident and emergency services, whether provided at a hospital accident and emergency department, a minor injuries unit, a walk-in centre or elsewhere, but not including any services provided—
(i) after the overseas visitor has been accepted as an in-patient; or
(ii) at an outpatient appointment;
(b) services otherwise than at, or by staff employed to work at, or under the direction of, a hospital6;
(c) family planning services;
(d) treatment in respect of a disease listed in Schedule 1;
(e) treatment for sexually transmitted infections, but in the case of services which relate to infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus, only to the extent that they consist of a diagnostic test for evidence of infection with the Virus and counselling associated with that test or its result;
(f) services provided to an overseas visitor who is liable to be detained in a hospital or, received into guardianship under the Mental Health Act 19837“(the 1983 Act)” or any other enactment authorising detention in a hospital by reason of mental disorder, or subject to a community treatment order under the 1983 Act8;
(g) treatment which is provided in...
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