Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989 (“the principal Regulations”), which provide for the making and recovery of charges in respect of certain services provided under the National Health Service Act 1977 to certain persons not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom (overseas visitors).

Regulation 2 amends regulation 4(1) of the principal Regulations so as to extend the exemption from charges to overseas visitors, to an overseas visitor who is a missionary. Regulation 2 also substitutes regulation 4(4) of the principal Regulations so as to provide that the spouse, civil partner or child of an overseas visitor to whom sub-paragraph (g), (h), (i), (j) or (q) of paragraph (1) of regulation 4 of the principal Regulations applies is also exempt from charges. However, in all other remaining cases, it continues to be a requirement that the spouse, civil partner or child of an overseas visitor also lives on a permanent basis with the overseas visitor in the United Kingdom in order to be exempt from charges.

Regulation 3 omits certain countries from the list in Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations, as these countries have now become (or will from 1st January 2007 become) part of the European Union and therefore overseas visitors from those countries will be dealt with under regulations 4(1)(m), 4A(1) and 5 of the principal Regulations.