Visas extended for thousands of frontline health and care workers Extension to benefit 14,000 applicants. From: 9 April 2021 Thousands of crucial frontline health workers and their dependents will be granted free visa extensions, Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced today. Free one-year visa extensions will be automatically granted to eligible overseas health and care workers whose visas were due to expire before 1 October 2021. Since starting the free extensions last year, the Home Office has extended the visas of more than 10,000 people across the UK. It is expected that today’s announcement will benefit a further 14,000 applicants. This will mean that doctors, nurses, paramedics, midwives, occupational therapists, psychologists and others will be able to continue their crucial work in the fight against coronavirus.