Medical letters for visa and immigration applications, with an honest account of what a GP letter can and cannot cover.
Unhurried care from a GMC-registered GP
6am to 10pm, seven days a week
Prescriptions, sick notes and referral letters included
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
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Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Visa and immigration applications frequently ask for medical documentation — confirmation that you are in good health, a summary of any conditions, or a letter about medication you take.
Requirements vary enormously between countries, and a letter that does not address the specific wording is no use to you. Send the requirement in advance and the GP will tell you at the outset whether it can be met.
The embassy or immigration wording, or the form itself. This determines whether a GP letter is the right document at all.
Covering your medical history, current medication and anything the destination country asks about specifically.
Within about ten minutes, in a form you can submit or have translated.
Not a description of it — the actual sentence, the form, or a screenshot of the requirement. Visa medical requirements are written narrowly and vary enormously between countries, and the difference between a letter that is accepted and one that is returned is usually a single phrase.
We read it first and tell you whether a GP letter can satisfy it. If it cannot, we say so by email before taking any fee.
Signed, on letterhead, with the GP's name and GMC number — which is what makes it verifiable to an authority that has never heard of us. It states what was assessed, on what date, and on what basis.
We hold no NHS record and cannot obtain one. A letter from us reflects this consultation and the history you gave. Where an authority wants a full medical history from the practice you are registered with, that has to come from that practice, usually by subject access request — free, and they have one month.
Tell us the destination at booking. If a GP letter will not satisfy the requirement, we would rather say so before you pay.
Read it against the requirement immediately, phrase by phrase. If the embassy asked for confirmation of something specific and you cannot find that sentence, tell us the same day — correcting wording is straightforward; doing it a week before your appointment abroad is not.
This is what most often causes an application to miss its deadline, and none of it is quick:
Start these the day you receive the letter. They run in sequence, not in parallel.
Most authorities want a letter issued within three to six months of submission, and some within one month. Check the window before you order it — a letter obtained too early expires and has to be paid for again.
The letter listing your medication is genuinely useful at a border, but it is not a permit. Some countries prohibit medicines that are entirely routine in the UK — codeine, some ADHD medicines, some sleeping tablets, and certain strong painkillers among them, with the Gulf states, Japan and Singapore the most frequently caught out.
Check with that country's embassy before you fly. A UK letter does not override their law, and possession can be a criminal matter rather than an administrative one.
Send us what they actually said was wrong. Where it is a matter of wording or omission on our side we will reissue at no charge. Where the requirement was one a GP letter could never meet, we will tell you honestly which route does meet it.
We can only confirm what we have assessed or what your records show, and we do not hold your NHS record. A "certificate of good health" from us reflects a consultation and the history you give us. Where an authority wants a full medical history from the practice you are registered with, they will need to ask that practice — usually through a subject access request.
Requirements no GP letter can satisfy:
We do not notarise, legalise or translate. Some countries require an apostille from the Legalisation Office, a certified translation, or attestation by their embassy. Those are separate processes with their own timescales — build them into your planning, because they are frequently what causes an application to miss its deadline.
Send the exact wording before booking. If a GP letter will not meet the requirement, we would far rather tell you that in an email than take the fee and hand you something the embassy rejects.
That depends entirely on the wording of the requirement, which is why we ask to see it first. Many visa applications are satisfied by a GP letter; a significant minority specify a doctor, a clinic or a process we are not.
Send the exact requirement before booking. We would far rather tell you in an email that this is not the right route than take a fee for a document that gets returned.
No — and no GP letter can substitute for it under any circumstances. UK entry TB screening for applicants from listed countries must be done at a Home Office approved clinic, and only certificates from those clinics are accepted.
Anyone offering you an alternative is either mistaken or selling you something worthless.
No. Those countries operate panel physician schemes — the examination must be done by a doctor specifically approved by that government, and the results are submitted directly by them.
No UK GP can perform one, and results from outside the scheme are not accepted.
No. Only a designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre can vaccinate and issue the international certificate. We can tell you whether you need one for your itinerary.
Yes, but be clear what it means. It confirms what was assessed at this consultation and the history you gave — not a review of a lifetime's medical record, because we cannot access your NHS record.
Where the authority wants a full history from your registered practice, ask that practice — a subject access request, free, with a one-month statutory deadline.
No, none of the three. Notarisation is a solicitor or notary; legalisation is the FCDO Legalisation Office; certified translation is a translation company.
These take days to weeks and run in sequence. They are the commonest reason a visa medical arrives too late, so start them the day you get the letter.
Whatever the authority says — commonly three to six months, sometimes one. Check before you order it. A letter obtained too early is a letter paid for twice.
Only where it can genuinely be established — from your history, from records you provide, or from a test we can arrange. We can request many blood tests privately and write on the results.
We will not attest to the absence of something we have not established. A letter that says more than the evidence supports is worthless to you at the point it is scrutinised, and it is not something a GMC-registered doctor can sign.
Yes — listing generic names, doses and quantities, which is what border officials ask for.
But it is not a permit. Several countries prohibit medicines that are entirely ordinary here — codeine, certain ADHD medicines, some sleeping tablets. Check with that country's embassy before you fly, because a UK letter does not override their law.
The letter itself is issued within about ten minutes of the consultation, and appointments run 6am to 10pm daily, so the medical part is rarely the bottleneck.
Legalisation and translation are the bottleneck, and nobody can rush those meaningfully. Nor will a deadline persuade us to attest to something we have not established.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 23, 2026
On this page
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
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