Navigating UK healthcare
Registering with a National Health Service general practice is the single most useful thing you can do to access UK healthcare. It is free, does not depend on immigration status, and takes surprisingly little paperwork. Here is how.
Dr Seth Rankin
MBChB MRCGP. Founder of LoveMyLife. Former NHS Commissioner and Managing Partner of Wandsworth Medical Centre.
23 April 2026
8 min read
Registering with a National Health Service (NHS) general practice is the front door of UK healthcare. Your registration gives you access to an NHS general practitioner (GP), to NHS referrals, to NHS prescribing, to national screening and vaccination programmes, and to the NHS number that follows you through every later NHS contact. It is free, does not depend on your immigration status, and in most cases takes less than fifteen minutes to arrange.
This article is the practical, step-by-step version. The cluster anchor on how to access UK healthcare as a newcomer covers the bigger picture. Sources are at the end.
NHS England guidance is clear that a GP practice cannot refuse registration because a patient does not have:
Proof of identity (passport, driving licence, or other ID)
Proof of address (tenancy agreement, utility bill, council tax bill)
Proof of immigration status
An NHS number
Practices are allowed to ask for these documents, and many do. They cannot, however, refuse registration on the grounds that you have not produced them. If a practice does refuse on those grounds and you are living within its catchment area, you can:
Politely cite NHS England guidance on registration without documents.
Ask to speak to the practice manager.
Contact your local Integrated Care Board (ICB).
Contact the NHS England customer contact centre.
Most refusals resolve at step one or two. Very few reach the ICB.
You can register with an NHS GP in three ways, and you can use whichever is easiest.
### Route 1: Find a GP and contact the practice directly
The NHS maintains a postcode search at nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp. Enter where you live; the search returns practices with a defined catchment area that includes your postcode.
Once you have found a practice, contact it either through its own website (most practices have an online registration form), by phone, or in person. The practice will ask you to complete a registration form (the GMS1 form) and give you a list of documents they would like to see if available.
### Route 2: The national Register with a GP surgery service
NHS England runs a national online registration service accepted by over 6,000 practices in England. It works without a login, is available 24 hours a day, and sends your registration directly to the practice you choose. The service is free to patients and free to practices.
This is the quickest route for most people. The form takes around ten minutes, and the practice receives your registration the same day.
### Route 3: The NHS App
The official NHS App (not any third-party app) lets you register with a new GP, switch surgery, view your current registration, book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, view your medical record, and access NHS test results. Setting up the app requires proof of identity through NHS login.
The NHS App is the easiest long-term home for your NHS primary-care relationship. Once you are registered and linked, most of your ongoing NHS interactions happen through the app rather than through phone calls or in-person reception visits.
Once your registration is accepted, several things happen in sequence.
You receive an NHS number. This is a 10-digit number that follows you through the rest of the NHS. If you have previously held an NHS number (for example from a previous UK period or as a child), the practice usually re-links you to your existing number rather than issuing a new one.
Your medical record is requested from your previous GP, if you had one in the UK. This can take several weeks. Urgent information can be transferred faster on request.
You may be invited to a new-patient health check. This is a short appointment with a practice nurse covering your medical history, medications, allergies, vaccinations, and basic health measures (blood pressure, weight, smoking status). It is not required but is usually worth doing.
You are added to the national screening call and recall system for the age- and sex-appropriate national screening programmes (cervical, breast, bowel, abdominal aortic aneurysm, diabetic eye).
You are added to the NHS vaccination call and recall system for age-appropriate vaccinations (childhood immunisations if applicable, adult boosters, annual flu vaccine if eligible, COVID-19 boosters if eligible, shingles, pneumococcal).
For patients who have recently moved to the UK, a small amount of additional paperwork is useful.
Childhood immunisation records. Bring or request a transfer of your childhood immunisation records from your previous country, so they can be added to your UK record. Missing records can usually be replaced by the UK childhood schedule at the practice or at a travel clinic.
Previous medical history. If you have an ongoing condition, bring a summary letter from your previous doctor, including current medications and any specialist involvement. A practice pharmacist or GP will use this to reconcile your NHS prescriptions.
Ongoing specialist care. If you were under specialist care in another country, the GP can make an NHS referral to the equivalent UK specialist. Be prepared for waiting times that may be longer than in some other systems.
The official NHS guidance for new and returning UK residents is at nhs.uk/nhs-services/visiting-or-moving-to-england. Eligibility for free NHS care depends on residency status, and the guidance explains the detail.
Homeless patients, patients in temporary accommodation, asylum seekers, and patients without a fixed address are specifically covered by the NHS England inclusion-health guidance. You can register with a GP using the practice's own address, a day-centre address, or a friend's address. The practice is not permitted to refuse registration on the grounds of no permanent address. Some cities have specialist inclusion-health practices that are particularly experienced with these registrations.
Children are registered the same way as adults, using the GMS1 form or the online equivalent. Children share the age-appropriate national immunisation programme and receive invitations automatically once registered. Newborns are usually registered as part of the birth-registration process, often by the midwife or health visitor.
It is worth understanding why practices often ask for documents even though they are not allowed to insist.
Catchment verification. Practices need to check that you live inside their catchment area. An address (not necessarily evidenced by a bill) is enough; many practices will accept your stated address without demanding proof.
Record linking. An NHS number or a previous-GP name speeds up the transfer of your medical record. Without them the practice can still register you, but your record linking may take longer.
Identity verification. Particularly for NHS-funded travel vaccinations, electronic prescribing, and the NHS App, stronger identity verification is useful. Practices sometimes build the habit of asking early.
Overseas-visitor eligibility. If you are a visitor rather than ordinarily resident, the practice may be establishing what kind of care you are entitled to. Primary care is largely free regardless; secondary care has different rules.
If you are asked for documents you do not have, say so clearly, ask the practice to register you on the basis of your declared address, and follow up with any documents you can obtain later. The registration itself is not held up.
Most registrations are processed within a few working days. In urgent clinical situations (for example if you need a prescription for an ongoing condition), call the practice directly, explain the situation, and the practice can accelerate the process.
A small amount of setup after registration pays off over time.
Download and set up the NHS App. Through the app you can book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, view your medical record, and access test results.
Note your NHS number. Keep it somewhere you can find it; you will be asked for it often in NHS contexts.
Tell the practice about any existing conditions, medications, and allergies. Early reconciliation reduces the risk of mistakes later.
Ask about the practice's triage and booking arrangements. Different practices handle access differently; knowing the local system saves time when you need it.
Register a trusted contact or nominated representative if appropriate, particularly for older patients or patients with communication difficulties.
Registering with an NHS GP is free, straightforward, and the main gateway into the rest of the NHS. Three routes (direct to practice, the national online service, the NHS App) are available. Paperwork requirements are lighter than many patients expect: you cannot be refused registration for lacking ID, proof of address, or proof of immigration status. Once registered, the NHS number, medical record transfer, and screening and vaccination invitations follow automatically.
For most newcomers to the UK, this is the single highest-leverage step for accessing healthcare. Everything else in the system opens up from here.
NHS, Find a GP. NHS postcode search for practices.
NHS, How to register with a GP surgery. The national Register with a GP surgery service.
NHS England, Registering with a GP: long read. NHS England policy guidance on registration without documents.
NHS App, nhs.uk/nhs-app. Official NHS patient app.
NHS, Visiting or moving to England. Eligibility for free NHS care by residency status.
NHS England, Integrated Care Boards. Local NHS commissioners.
NHS England, Contact us. National NHS England contact centre.
gov.uk, NHS Constitution for England. Patient rights under the NHS.
Clinically reviewed
Dr Seth Rankin · MBChB MRCGP - Founder and Medical Director, LoveMyLife
Dr Seth Rankin qualified in medicine at Auckland School of Medicine in New Zealand in 1990 and worked as a junior doctor across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK before qualifying as a Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) through the London Deanery in 2004. He was Managing Partner of Wandsworth Medical Centre from 2006 to 2016 and served as a Board Member of Wandsworth Clinical Commissioning Group for nine years. He is the founder of London Travel Clinic, London Doctors Clinic, London Medical Laboratory, and LoveMyLife.
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