The Skilled Worker Visa allows for qualifying individuals to enter the UK to work. The work must be for an approved sponsor and in an eligible role.
The rules and procedures are complex and we will guide sponsor employers as well as employees through the application process. It is likely that following announcements by the Home Secretary in December 2023, the rules are going to become even tighter and more complicated. We will update these pages if and when those announcements become law.
Skilled Worker Visa – What it is
The Skilled Worker visa, replaced the previous Tier 2 (General) visa. It is currently the main UK work visa for skilled overseas nationals.
Both employers looking to hire a skilled worker from overseas and individuals applying for a sponsored work visa, will need to understand the Skilled Worker visa eligibility and application requirements to avoid issues or delays with the Home Office application.
A failed or refused application will be costly, often resulting in the loss of the application fee and the time spent making the application
Briefly the Skilled Worker visa allows UK sponsors to sponsor and employ non-UK nationals to work inside the UK in certain eligible skilled jobs.
In order to qualify for a skilled worker visa, the applicant worker must achieve 70 points by meeting certain specific eligibility criteria. These include skill and salary level, English language standard and also having a qualifying job offer from a UK employer. The UK employer also needs to hold a valid sponsorship licence. We will break down and explain each of the required criteria below.
At present the Skilled Worker visa allows for spouses, ‘durable’ partners and dependent children to also apply to join the Skilled Worker in the UK as dependents. These rules might be changing soon, based on an announcement by the Home Secretary in December 2023. If and when they change, these pages will be updated.
What are the requirements for a Skilled Worker Visa?
The regulations and requirements for a Skilled Worker visa are set out in more detail in a new Appendix Skilled Worker. The link will take you to more details on this.
Increase in Skilled Worker minimum salary from Spring 2024
Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Requirements
