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Most UK businesses and organisations will obtain a Sponsor Licence to recruit Skilled Workers from outside the UK. Here, we explain the steps required to sponsor a Skilled Worker and how we can help your business or organisation at every stage of the process.
Starting the process of applying for a Skilled Worker visa firstly involves ensuring the job you wish to sponsor and the person you wish to perform it qualify for the Skilled Worker visa. The jobs that can be sponsored appear on the Home Office’s list of eligible occupations. They can be found here.
The eligible occupations listed are the general occupations, as described by the ONS. Often the job to be sponsored will be easily identified on the list but sometimes the job will not match exactly. You need to be confident the intended job can be justified to the Home Office as properly fitting under the more general occupation listed and is eligible for sponsorship on the Skilled Worker visa route.
To sponsor a Skilled Worker visa, you must generally pay a minimum salary which equals or exceeds both the “general salary threshold” and the ‘going rate’ for the specific occupation. The minimum salary that must be paid is whichever is the highest out of the following three options:
The relevant “going rate” that requires to be paid, if above £38,700, is described as the “standard rate” and can be confirmed in the following table: “Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes”
In certain circumstances you can pay less than the general minimum salary requirement of £38,700 or the occupation’s standard ‘going rate’.
The Skilled Worker visa system allows less to be paid depending on the occupation or the circumstances of the Skilled Worker.
You can pay between 70% and 90% of the standard going rate for the occupation so long as the salary is at least £30,960 per year and one of the following criteria is met:
For many employers with a Sponsor Licence, utilising the “new entrant” category to pay less than the general minimum salary requirement is likely to become increasingly important. A potential candidate who holds a “student visa” can qualify as a “new entrant” as a Skilled Worker for up to 4 years and a “graduate visa” holder for up to 2 years (including any remaining period on their “graduate visa”). For these periods “new entrants” can be paid the higher of 70% of the standard “going rate” or £30,960 per year.
With the significant increase to the general minimum salary requirement, the circumstances when sponsors may pay less will become crucial, and the “new entrant” category in particular. The rules are complex and we can help you calculate the relevant salary for your Skilled Worker.
When you have identified that the job is listed as an eligible occupation, that you can pay at least the minimum salary required and the intended employee has the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job, you are ready to apply to sponsor a Skilled Worker visa.
A Sponsor Licence holder utilises their Sponsor Licence through their online Home Office portal, known as the Sponsor Management System (SMS). To sponsor a Skilled Worker a Certificate of Sponsorship must be applied for and obtained using the Sponsor Management System. Applying for the Certificate of Sponsorship includes detailing the Skilled Worker occupation as per the list, salary details and a job description of the specific role to be sponsored. When the certificate has been granted it can be assigned to a specific individual to be used in the Skilled Worker visa application. When assigning the Certificate of Sponsorship to the person, a £239 admin fee must be paid and also the Immigration Skills Charge, a fee levied by the government on businesses and organisations when they recruit workers under a Sponsor Licence. The fee is £364 or £1,000 per year of the visa that is to be sponsored, depending on whether you are a small or large sponsor. The Certificate of Sponsorship requires details of the period of the visa to be sponsored and the Immigration Skills Charge will be calculated accordingly. When formally assigned to the specific individual, the Skilled Worker visa application can now be prepared.
A visa application is applied for online via the Home Office’s website. A visa application is a complex process requiring essential information in respect of the person applying, full disclosures in respect of their immigration history throughout the world, and crucially in the UK, and details relevant to criminal history. When the information about the person is obtained it is very important that information is assessed to determine the person’s prospects of satisfying all eligibility requirements for the visa. A Skilled Worker visa application must also be supported by a number of mandatory documents. The applicant requires to demonstrate they have sufficient financial savings and depending on their country of origin they may require to obtain a specific English language qualification and a TB test.
When the application and documents have been prepared the application is submitted online. At this stage the visa fee and the immigration health surcharge must be paid. The visa fees vary depending on whether the application is being made from inside or outside the UK and depending on the length of the visa. The current fees are set out here. After the application has been paid for and submitted a visa appointment must then be arranged at a visa centre where the person applying is located. The visa appointment is to provide the original passport and provide biometric information (photograph and fingerprints). Visa centres are not operated by the Home Office but by commercial partners of the Home Office. Prior to the appointment all supporting documents must be uploaded via the visa centre’s website. After the visa appointment the application is then ready for decision by the Home Office.
The Home Office publishes approximate processing times for all visa applications The average time for a Skilled Worker application is three weeks if made outside the UK and 8 weeks if made inside the UK. If a faster decision is required, for an additional payment, priority services should allow a decision to be made within the next working day or five working days from the visa appointment.
When the visa is granted, the successful applicant is asked to collect their passport. Their passport will include an entry clearance document which is valid for three months. This allows the individual to travel to the UK and commence work with you as their sponsor.
We can assist at every stage of the process including:
We understand the full process to sponsor a new employee on a Skilled Worker visa can seem a daunting prospect, not only in making sure all the complex requirements of Immigration law are met but properly utilising the online systems of the Home Office and commercial visa centres. We have considerable experience of successfully preparing visa applications and can provide expert advice, including providing a full visa service.
Our Immigration law specialists are also embedded in our Employment law team and this allows us to work together to provide a comprehensive service to include all relevant employment law matters that may arise in respect of employing staff on Skilled Worker visas.
There is no minimum period for the Skilled Worker visa and the maximum period a visa can be granted for is five years. Many employers decide to sponsor for a period of less than five years as they wish to be satisfied that the person will be a good fit for their business. If an employer wishes to continue sponsoring a Skilled Worker and their visa is due to expire, they must apply to extend the visa. The process is essentially the same but obviously undertaken when the person is already working in the UK.
From 4th April 2024, legal changes were introduced which will impact on the salary to be paid at the stage an existing Skilled Worker applies to extend their Skilled Worker or apply to settle permanently, having spent 5 years continuously on the Skilled Worker visa route.
Visa Extensions for Skilled Workers who held a Skilled Worker visa before 4th April or obtained a Skilled Worker visa with a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned before 4th April 2024
For Skilled Workers in this category, to extend or settle on the Skilled Worker route they will need to be paid the highest out of the following three options:
The “general salary threshold” that applied to these Skilled Workers in respect of their previous visa has increased from £26,200 to £29,000 per year and the “going rate” has increased from being based on the 25th percentile of 2020 earnings data for the relevant occupation to the 25th percentile of 2023 earnings data for the relevant occupation.
The increased salary thresholds must be met to extend or settle on the Skilled Worker route.
The relevant “going rate” that requires to be paid, if above £29,000, is described as the “lower rate” in the following table: “Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes.”
Employers will also need to be aware that many of the “occupation codes” relevant to Skilled Worker occupations have also now changed and they will need to make sure that when assigning Certificates of Sponsorship the correct “occupation” code is being applied.
Visa Extensions for Skilled Workers who previously obtained a Skilled Worker visa with a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned after 4th April 2024
These applications should be more straight forward as they are following the same salary scales that applied at the time the previous Skilled Worker visa was obtained.
The minimum salary that must be paid is whichever is the highest out of the following three options:
The relevant “going rate” that requires to be paid, if above £38,700, is described as the “standard rate” in the following table: “Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes.”
For some years to come, employers with Skilled Workers will require to be aware of and apply the different rules and salary thresholds that apply depending on whether:
The rules are complex and the consequences of getting it wrong are refusals of Certificates of Sponsorship or visa applications, causing potential compliance issues with the Home Office but also additional work to secure visas at the appropriate time.
We can help your business understand which sets of rules and salary thresholds will apply to your visa extension/settlement applications and ensure the process is undertaken as efficiently and quickly as possible.
The Skilled Worker visa is the most regularly used work visa for businesses and organisations with a Sponsor Licence and who are seeking to recruit from outside the UK. The Sponsor Licence system however does have a number of additional routes that businesses and organisations can utilise for more specific work visas. These additional visa categories include:
If you are a small or large business, charity, religious organisation, sports body, government or public body, we have the breadth of knowledge and experience to assist you in successfully sponsoring workers to come to the UK and work for you. We can provide a range of services depending on your requirements, whether it is expert advice on specific issues or a full visa application service.
Contact us by filling out the enquiry form or emailing Mark below.
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