Questions people ask about UK work visas and this site

The Skilled Worker visa requires: a job offer from a UK employer with a valid sponsor licence, a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from your employer, the job must be at an appropriate skill level, you must meet the minimum salary threshold (usually £41,700 per year or the going rate for your occupation, whichever is higher), and you must prove your knowledge of English. Some roles, extensions, transitional cases, health and education jobs, and tradeable-points cases have different salary thresholds. Full details are published on GOV.UK.

The general salary threshold for many Skilled Worker applications is £41,700 per year or the going rate for the specific occupation code, whichever is higher. There are exceptions: new entrants, relevant PhD holders, some extension/switching cases, and certain health and education roles may qualify under different salary rules. The going rates are set per SOC code and published in the Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations on GOV.UK.

The employer pays the CoS assignment fee, which is currently £525 per certificate for a Skilled Worker. This is separate from the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) that employers may also need to pay. The applicant pays the visa application fee separately. Current fees are listed on GOV.UK.

Key documents include: your valid passport or travel document, Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) reference number from your employer, proof of English language ability (e.g., IELTS SELT, degree taught in English, or national of a majority English-speaking country), proof of personal savings of at least £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days (unless your employer certifies maintenance on the CoS), a tuberculosis test certificate if applying from a listed country, and a criminal record certificate if working in education, health, or social care. Always check the latest GOV.UK guidance for your specific circumstances.

Yes, you can extend a Skilled Worker visa as many times as you like, provided you still meet the requirements at the time of the extension, including the current salary threshold. You can also switch to the Skilled Worker route from most other visa categories while inside the UK, except from visitor, short-term student, or immigration bail statuses. When extending, the salary threshold that applies is the one in force at the date of your application, not your original visa.

If your employer's sponsor licence is revoked, the Home Office will write to you with a curtailment notice. You are typically given 60 days to find a new sponsor and make a new visa application, or leave the UK. During this period you can continue to work for a new employer if you submit a valid application in time. If the licence is merely suspended (not revoked), you can usually continue working while the Home Office investigates. Check our Revoked Sponsors page to see the latest licence changes.

No. To issue a Certificate of Sponsorship, an employer must hold a valid sponsor licence issued by the Home Office. A company can apply for a licence, a process that typically takes around 8 weeks, but they cannot sponsor you until it is granted. You can check whether a company currently holds a licence using the official register of licensed sponsors on GOV.UK, or search our sponsor company directory for the latest status.

You can apply for ILR after 5 continuous years on the Skilled Worker (or former Tier 2 General) route. The qualifying period can include time spent on certain other work routes. You must have been physically present in the UK and not have been absent for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. The Home Office White Paper published in May 2025 has proposed changes to how the qualifying period works. Check our Earned Settlement 2026 guide for the latest.

To qualify for ILR you must: have completed the required continuous residence period (typically 5 years on a qualifying route), not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month rolling period, meet the current salary threshold at the time of your ILR application, pass the Life in the UK test, meet the English language requirement at B1 level or above, and have no unspent criminal convictions. Requirements vary slightly between visa routes, so check the specific guidance on GOV.UK for your route.

The UK government's May 2025 White Paper proposed replacing the current 5-year ILR route with a 10-year "earned settlement" pathway. Under this proposal, migrants would need to meet criteria around economic contribution, tax payment, English language proficiency, and community integration. As of April 2026, these proposals have not yet been enacted into the Immigration Rules, so the current 5-year ILR route still applies. We track all updates on our Earned Settlement 2026 guide page.

Standard processing times published by the Home Office are: Skilled Worker visa, 3 weeks from biometrics (outside UK) or 8 weeks (inside UK), Spouse/Partner visa, up to 24 weeks (outside UK) or 8 weeks (inside UK), ILR applications, 6 months (standard) or 1 working day (super priority, if available). These are target times and actual processing can be faster or slower. Priority and super priority services are available for some categories at additional cost. Current processing times are published on GOV.UK.

For ILR via the Skilled Worker route, you typically need: valid passport or travel document, evidence of 5 years' continuous residence (e.g., previous visa grant letters or BRP), your current Certificate of Sponsorship reference number confirming ongoing employment, proof of salary meeting the threshold (payslips, employer letter), Life in the UK test pass certificate, English language test certificate at B1 or above (unless exempt), proof of no absences exceeding 180 days in any 12-month period, and the ILR application fee plus Immigration Health Surcharge. Check GOV.UK for the most current checklist.

The UK government publishes a register of licensed sponsors that is updated regularly. You can search it on GOV.UK, or use our sponsor company directory which lets you filter by location, industry, and visa route, and includes enriched data like company size and contact details where available. Our database is derived from public sponsor-register data and refreshed regularly.

Many NHS Trusts, care homes, and healthcare providers hold Skilled Worker or Health and Care visa sponsor licences. You can verify whether a specific NHS trust or care provider is a licensed sponsor by searching our company directory or the GOV.UK register. The Health and Care visa is a sub-category of the Skilled Worker visa with reduced fees and no Immigration Skills Charge. It applies to eligible health and social care occupations listed on GOV.UK.

The Health and Care visa is a sub-category of the Skilled Worker visa for eligible health and social care workers. It offers benefits including: a reduced visa application fee, exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), exemption from the Immigration Skills Charge for employers, and faster processing. To qualify, you must be sponsored for an eligible health or care occupation code listed in the Immigration Rules and work for an eligible employer (such as the NHS or a CQC-registered care provider).

The visa route and salary threshold depend on the occupation code (SOC code) of the job, not the company itself. Each company's sponsor licence specifies which routes it can sponsor (e.g., Skilled Worker or Global Business Mobility routes). The minimum salary is determined by comparing the applicable general threshold with the going rate for the specific occupation code. You can look up going rates in Appendix Skilled Occupations on GOV.UK. Our company pages show the routes each sponsor is licensed for.

Yes. If you are a new entrant to the labour market (for example, under 26, a recent graduate, or switching from a Student visa), you may be eligible for a reduced salary threshold. The job must still be with a licensed sponsor and meet the current occupation skill requirement or an eligible exception. Many large employers, including those in finance, tech, consulting, and healthcare, actively sponsor graduates. You can search our directory to find sponsors in your target industry and location.

ImmigrationGPT is an AI-powered UK immigration assistant. Ask about visa rules, salary thresholds, and sponsor requirements to get plain-English information grounded in official public sources.

No. The sponsor register, company pages, the job offer check, the jobs page and the calculators all work without an account. A free account adds licence alerts for the companies you watch, a job alert, your visa timeline, Ask AI and the community.

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Sponsor data is derived from the official UK government register and refreshed regularly. AI answers are grounded in GOV.UK guidance, Immigration Rules, and public Home Office sources, but rules can change quickly. Always verify critical decisions on GOV.UK or with a qualified adviser.

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We track 125k+ UK companies with valid visa sponsorship licences. This includes companies across all industries and visa routes, from small startups to large multinational corporations.

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Yes, we maintain records of companies whose sponsor licences have been revoked. These are clearly marked with a 'Revoked' status and include the date when the licence was removed. This helps you avoid applying to companies that can no longer sponsor visas.

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