If you are applying for jobs in the UK and you have secured one, you may be eligible to apply for a Skilled Worker visa. The Skilled Worker visa route is the UK’s main work visa route. It allows employers to sponsor workers to come to the UK and take up employment, or to switch into this visa category if they are already in the UK under a visa that allows switching.
A Skilled Worker visa gives you permission to live in the UK and work for your employer for up to 5 years. If you have a partner or children under 18, they may be able to join you too. After 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK under the Skilled Worker route you (and your family) may be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (i.e. permanent residence) in the UK and, thereafter, British citizenship.
Your prospective UK employer will need to sponsor your visa application. In order to do so, the company will need to have a UK sponsorship licence and assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to you. A CoS is an electronic document which will contain details relating to your prospective role.
If the company does not have a sponsor licence, they will need to apply for one and obtain it before you can proceed with your Skilled Worker visa application.
The role that you will be carrying out must be at or above the minimum skill level, which is Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) 3, equivalent to UK A Level.
As part of the application, your prospective employer will also need to choose an occupation code (i.e., a job-type code) that matches your role most closely, and this code will need to meet the skill level.
The minimum salary threshold for your particular application will depend on a number of factors. These include the occupation code that most closely matches your role, whether you will be considered to be a New Entrant (there are specific eligibility criteria), or whether your role is considered to be lacking sufficient numbers of qualified workers in the UK.
The general minimum salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas ranges from £20,960 to £26,200; however, the minimum salary relevant to your visa application may be much higher depending on your occupation code and the number of hours you will be working.
You will need to meet the English language requirement. This can be met in various ways, such as being a national of a Home-Office-listed majority English-speaking country, having a degree taught in English (verified by a company called ECCTIS, as necessary), or passing a Home Office approved English language test at the appropriate level.
If you believe that you are eligible and in genuine need of a Skilled Worker Visa, or want to know more about us and our Corporate Immigration services please contact a member of the team who can answer any questions and guide you through the process.
If you are in the UK as a Skilled Worker…
Read MoreIf you are in the UK as a Skilled Worker migrant but are in the process of changing employer or changing jobs within your current employer and your new job now falls outside your current occupation code, you will be required to submit a fresh Permission to Remain application as a Skilled Worker.
The employer must have a valid sponsor licence and will need to issue you with a new CoS.
You will be required to submit an online application form…
Read MoreYou will be required to submit an online application form for Permission to Remain as a Skilled Worker, together with the relevant supporting documents, this will include a newly assigned CoS for your employer.
Once your application has been paid and submitted online, you will be required to attend a biometric appointment.
If you hold valid leave within the UK as a…
Read MoreIf you hold valid leave within the UK as a Student or even under the Graduate visa route and a sponsored employer offers you a role that meets the requirements of a Skilled Worker visa, you may be eligible to switch in country.
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