Skilled workers visa Guide

Table of content

• 1. Eligibility
• 2. Approved UK employer with a certificate of sponsorship
• 3. Job at an appropriate skill level
• 4. English language requirement
• 5. The relevant salary
• 6. Financial Requirement
• 7. Tuberculosis certificates
• 8. Criminality and deportation thresholds
• 9. Switch to this visa
• 10. Application process and fees.
• 11. Visa length, conditions of stay and settlement
• 12. Family members
• 13. Documents you might need
• 14. Extend your visa
• 15. Update your visa if you change job or employer

The new Points-Based System (PBS) includes a route for Skilled Workers which allows you to come to the UK to do an eligible job with a Home Office approved employer; following Brexit, this requirement now applies to both EU nationals – who arrived in the UK after December 2020 – and non-EU citizens; this visa has replaced the Tier 2 (General) work visa.

1. Eligibility

To be eligible for a Skilled Worker Visa in general, you must be awarded 50 mandatory points (for your sponsorship, job and English language skills) and 20 tradeable points (for salary and other attributes). In some cases (mainly entry clearance applications), applicants must also satisfy non-points requirements regarding tuberculosis testing, available funds and criminal records certificates.

So you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that you:

• are aged 18 or over;
• Intend to Work for an approved UK employer,
• have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the job you are planning to do;
• have a job offer covering a genuine vacancy;
• have a job offer at an appropriate skill level;
• are competent in the English language to at least CEFR Level B1 (equivalent to IELTS 4.0);
• will be paid an appropriate salary;
• have enough money to support yourself without recourse to public funds;

The exact requirements you will need to satisfy will vary depending on your circumstances.

2. Approved UK employer with a certificate of sponsorship

You must score 20 points for having a certificate of sponsorship (Cos) from an approved UK employer. Your employer, the sponsor, must hold a valid Skilled Worker sponsor licence and must have paid any Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) which applies to the application. Your employer will issue you a Cos which is an electronic record, not a physical document. It will have a reference number which you’ll need to provide for your visa application. You must apply for your visa within 3 months of getting your certificate of sponsorship.

Points may not be awarded for Cos if there are genuine vacancy concerns whereby the Home Office may have reasonable grounds to believe that the job you are being sponsored to do either does not exist, is a sham (for example, the job exists but you will not be doing it) or has been created mainly so that you can apply for permission

Genuine vacancy concerns may lead to a compliance visit to the sponsor’s premises and in such a case, your application will be put on hold pending the outcome of the checks.. If there are further suspicions to believe that you may be complicit in being sponsored for a vacancy which is not genuine, you may be invited to attend an interview. The implications for an applicant of a finding of deception can be significant.

3. Job at an appropriate skill level

You must also score 20 points for having a job at the appropriate skill level. The job must be at or above the minimum skill level: RQF3 level or equivalent (A level or equivalent qualification).

Points will not be awarded if there are reasonable grounds to believe the sponsor has not chosen an appropriate occupation code. Factors which may indicate this could include when either the job description appears to be a standard or template response used for other businesses and the application is in a high-risk sector or the applicant has been refused previously on similar grounds.

To support this assessment, the Home Office may, in particular, consider:

• whether the sponsor has shown a genuine need for the job as described,
• whether the applicant has the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job as described,
• the sponsor’s history of compliance with the immigration system and
• any additional information from the sponsor.

Concerns about exaggerated or incorrect jobs may lead to a compliance visit to the sponsor’s premises.

4. English language requirement

You must score 10 points for English language skills. You’ll usually need to prove your knowledge of English when you apply unless you did this in a previous successful visa application. You must be able to speak, read, write and understand English to at least level B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale. The level of English language ability required is set as appropriate for each relevant route. For example, students at degree level must demonstrate their ability at level B2 (A-Level or equivalent) and skilled workers B1 (AS-Level or equivalent).

The requirement for migrants to speak English language supports integration, ensuring migrants can live and be part of the wider community in the UK. It also means migrants must demonstrate they have the ability required for the route and the role they are coming to the UK for.

The ways you can show you meet the English language requirement are:

• being a national of a majority English speaking country;
• having an academic degree taught in English – if you studied abroad, you’ll need to apply for confirmation through UK NARIC that your qualification is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD;
• passing a secure English language test from an approved provider;
• having shown you meet the required level in a previous successful immigration application.
• having a GCSE, A level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English
• In some routes there are additional ways of meeting the English language requirement:
• skilled workers who are sponsored as a doctor, dentist, nurse or midwife can rely on the assessment of their professional body as proof of their English language ability.
• students who are studying a course at degree level or above at a UK Higher Education provider with a track record of compliance, can meet the English requirement if their sponsor assesses their ability.
• students who are applying to complete a short-term study abroad programme in the UK, as part of a course equivalent to a UK degree being studied at a Higher Education Institution in the USA do not need to prove English language ability.

The list of majority English speaking countries has been extended to include Ireland (so applicants who are neither British nor Irish citizens and who have studied at Irish universities can rely on their qualifications to show they have met the English language requirement) and Malta.

5. Salary requirements

You’ll have to be paid the relevant salary threshold by your sponsor depending on the type of work you do. The general threshold is the minimum salary which applies regardless of the applicant’s occupation code, it is the same, regardless of how many hours a week you are sponsored to work and it cannot be pro-rated for part-time work. This will either be the general salary threshold of £25,600 or the going rate for your job, whichever is higher. Each occupation code has its own annual going rate and the assessment of salary is based on guaranteed basic gross pay.

The going rate is the minimum salary which applies for a particular occupation code, depending on the tradeable points option, applicants must be paid either the full going rate or 70%, 80% or 90% of the going rate. If you earn less than £25,600 – but no less than £20,480 – you may still be able to apply by ‘trading’ points on specific characteristics against your salary.

Meeting the mandatory criteria will earn you 50 points; you must obtain a further 20 “tradeable” points through a combination of points for your salary, a job in a shortage occupation or a relevant PhD. If you are paid the higher of the general salary threshold of £25,600 or the “going rate” for your particular job, you will get an extra 20 points.

A Skilled Worker may be awarded additional ‘tradable points’ for other attributes, when they have:

• a PhD qualification which is relevant to the job, they may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £23,040 per year and 90% of the going rate for the occupation;
• a PhD qualification in a science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) subject which is relevant to the job, they may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 80% of the going rate for the occupation;
• a job offer for a job in a shortage occupation, they may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 80% of the going rate for the occupation;
• employment as a new entrant to the labour market, they may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 70% of the going rate for the occupation;
• a job in a listed health or education occupation, they may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 80% of the going rate for the occupation.