Skilled Worker

What the Skilled Worker visa is

The Skilled Worker route lets you come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job for an employer that the Home Office has licensed to sponsor workers.

The word that matters is sponsor. This is not a visa you hold on your own terms — it is tied to a specific employer, a specific job, and a specific salary. Change any of those and the visa is affected. That single fact explains most of what follows.

Who can apply

You will generally need:

• A job offer from a licensed sponsor
• A Certificate of Sponsorship from that employer for the job
• A job at or above the required skill level
• A salary at or above the thresholds that apply to your job
• English language ability at the required level
• To meet the suitability requirements

You can apply from outside the UK, or switch from most other routes from inside it.

Sponsorship and the Certificate of Sponsorship

Your employer must hold a sponsor licence before they can offer you anything. If they do not have one, no amount of willingness on either side helps — the licence comes first, and applying for one is their process, not yours.

Once licensed, they assign you a Certificate of Sponsorship: an electronic record, not a document you carry, containing the job details your visa application will be assessed against. If the job described on it does not match the job you actually do, that is a problem for both of you.

Salary requirements

There are two figures to satisfy, and you generally need to meet both:

• A general salary threshold that applies across the route
• The going rate for your specific occupation code

Some applicants qualify for reduced thresholds — new entrants to the labour market and certain occupations among them.

These figures change, sometimes at short notice. They have been revised more than once in recent years, and a salary that qualified last year may not this year. Always check the current thresholds and going rates on GOV.UK before relying on any figure — including any you see quoted elsewhere on the internet.

English language

You must show you can read, write, speak and understand English to the required level. You can usually do this by passing an approved test, by holding a degree taught in English, or by being a national of a country the Rules treat as majority English-speaking.

Bringing dependants

Your partner and children can normally apply as your dependants, with their own financial evidence requirements. Some occupations have had dependant rights restricted — check the position for your own job rather than assuming.

Extending, switching and changing employer

A Skilled Worker visa can be extended, and you can change employer — but a new sponsor means a new Certificate of Sponsorship and a new application. You cannot simply start a different job.

This is where people get caught. Leaving a sponsored role without a new sponsor lined up puts your permission at risk, and redundancy starts a limited period in which to find a new sponsor. If your job is ending, deal with the immigration position before the employment one closes.

Skilled Worker to settlement

The Skilled Worker route leads to indefinite leave to remain. You will need to have completed the qualifying period on the route, still be sponsored, still meet the salary requirement at the point you apply, and satisfy the continuous residence and Life in the UK requirements.

Time spent outside the UK is limited across the qualifying period — the Skilled Worker ILR calculator works out the exact date from your own dates and trips.

Frequently misunderstood

"My employer said they'll sort the visa." They sponsor you; you apply. Both parts have to happen.

"I can start work while it's being decided." Only in specific circumstances. Check before your first day.

"I've been here five years, so I can settle." Five years on the route, still sponsored, still meeting the salary, and within the absence limits. All four, not just the first.

Before you rely on this

VisaXplain is not a law firm and does not give immigration advice. This page explains published rules; it is not a decision on your case, and it does not account for facts it has not asked you about. Salary thresholds in particular move — check GOV.UK, and take advice from a regulated adviser before you act.