Careers at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — What You Need to Know About Working There & Visa Support

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s major medical centres. Home to Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie Hospital, it is well known for specialist services, research, teaching, and a broad scope of patient care.

If you’re exploring job options in the UK health service, or considering applying from overseas, CUH offers many opportunities—but also some things to check carefully. Below is a breakdown of what they offer, how hiring usually works, and what’s known about visa sponsorship there.

Who They Are & What Makes CUH Special

• Scope of Services: CUH provides general hospital care plus highly specialized treatment. These include transplantation, rare cancers, neurological intensive care, and many other complex services.

• Academic & Research Strength: Being attached to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, CUH is deeply involved in research and teaching, which means many staff have chances to work in cutting-edge medicine, clinical trials, etc.

• Size & Reputation: The Trust has thousands of staff and is part of the “Shelford Group” (a group of leading teaching hospitals).

What Kind of Career Roles Are Available

CUH offers a large variety of employment roles, across many career levels and departments. Some examples include:

• Clinical and Medical Roles: Doctors, consultants, specialists, nurses, midwives.

• Allied Health Professionals: Physiotherapists, radiographers, occupational therapists, laboratory scientists, etc.

• Support and Infrastructure Roles: Administration, facilities, estates, pharmacy, healthcare scientists, diagnostics.

• Training & Apprenticeships: There are apprenticeship routes, placements, and development programmes, especially in fields like healthcare science, nursing, allied health, and support services.

• Overseas / International Recruitment: CUH includes sections for “Overseas recruitment” on its careers pages, which suggests they do recruit internationally for some roles.

Applying to CUH — What to Expect

Here’s a typical process and what helps when applying:

1. Finding a suitable vacancy — check the CUH careers website under “Current Vacancies.”

2. Reading job details carefully — pay attention to whether the role is full-time or part-time, what the required qualifications or registrations are (for example with UK regulatory bodies), what the pay band is.

3. Checking overseas/international recruitment sections if you are outside the UK — this can include specific support or information about moving to the UK.

4. Interview, checks, onboarding — usual HR, clinical or sector-specific interviews, reference checks, background/DBS etc.

Visa Sponsorship & What to Check If Coming from Abroad

If you are not a UK/EEA/Swiss citizen (or you don’t already have the right to work in the UK), visa eligibility is very important. Here’s what is known and what to verify with CUH:

• Licensed Sponsor: CUH is recognised as a licensed sponsor for the Skilled Worker visa (formerly Tier 2). That means for certain roles, CUH can issue Certificates of Sponsorship to overseas workers.

• Role Eligibility: Not every role will be eligible. Typically, roles that are in shortage/skill levels, or regulated professions (medicine, nursing, allied health, etc.) are more likely to qualify.

• Restrictions: Some job adverts explicitly say whether sponsorship is offered or not. For example, there are roles posted by CUH where sponsorship is not available.

• Requirements under UK Visa Rules: These include having a salary at or above certain thresholds, meeting English language requirements, having recognised qualifications or registrations (e.g. GMC for doctors, NMC for nurses, HCPC etc.), often proof of experience.

• Timeline & Documents: Applying for a visa, securing the Certificate of Sponsorship, getting all documentation (proof of credentials, registration, criminal record checks etc.), and having the visa processed often takes several weeks to months.

Practical Questions to Ask/Check Before You Apply

If you’re an international applicant, these are smart questions or checks to make:

1. Does the job posting explicitly state that visa sponsorship is available?

2. What is the job’s salary band, and does it meet the threshold required for Skilled Worker or Health & Care Visa?

3. Are your professional qualifications/registrations recognised in the UK, or will you need additional steps?

4. What are the relocation, accommodation, or support policies for overseas recruits (if any)?

5. What is the cost, timeline, and paperwork involved (e.g. visa fees, proof of language competence, criminal record).