Work visas · IAA-regulated advice
UK Skilled Worker Visa Advice in Birmingham & London
Come to the UK, or switch while you’re here, to work for an employer the Home Office has approved. We check your job, salary and English against the current rules, including the changes since July 2025, and prepare your application, for a fixed fee agreed in writing.
Last checked 11 October 2026 · Reviewed by Vishal Gautam, IAA-regulated adviser
Overview
What is a UK Skilled Worker visa?
A Skilled Worker visa lets you come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job for an employer the Home Office has approved as a sponsor. It replaced the Tier 2 (General) visa. Each grant lasts up to 5 years, you can extend, and after 5 years you can apply to settle (indefinite leave to remain).
The rules are in Appendix Skilled Worker of the Immigration Rules. Since 22 July 2025, new applicants generally need a job skilled to degree level, and since 8 January 2026, English at level B2. If you were already on the route before those dates, some of the older rules may still apply to you.
✓This is your visa if…
- You have a job offer from a UK employer with a licence to sponsor Skilled Workers
- The job is in an eligible occupation, usually skilled to degree level (RQF 6 or above)
- You’ll be paid at least £41,700 a year and the going rate for the job, or a lower threshold applies to you
- You can prove English at level B2, or you don’t need to
→Look at another route if…
- You work for an overseas group that’s sending you to its UK businessSenior or Specialist Worker →
- You’re a Commonwealth citizen with a grandparent born in the UKUK Ancestry visa →
- You’re a leader or potential leader in research, arts or digital technologyGlobal Talent visa →
- You’re an employer who wants to sponsor overseas workersSkilled Worker sponsor licence →
Quick check
Could you qualify? Six questions, one minute
Answer honestly. Nothing is saved or sent: this is a general guide, not advice on your case.
Do you have a job offer from a UK employer licensed to sponsor Skilled Workers?Your employer gives you a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) with a reference number.
Is the job skilled to degree level (RQF 6 or above) and on the list of eligible occupations?Most jobs below degree level only qualify if they’re on the Temporary Shortage List or Immigration Salary List.
Will you be paid at least £41,700 a year, and at least the going rate for your job?£33,400 can be enough for new entrants, STEM PhD holders and Immigration Salary List jobs. Health and education jobs follow national pay scales.
Can you prove English at level B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening?A degree taught in English or a UK school qualification can count. Nationals of majority English-speaking countries don’t need to prove it.
Have you held £1,270 for 28 days, or will your employer certify your maintenance?Not needed if you’ve been in the UK with permission for 12 months or more.
If you’re in the UK, are you on a visa you can switch from?You can’t switch from a visitor, short-term student, seasonal worker or domestic worker visa.
Eligibility
UK Skilled Worker visa requirements
You must meet every requirement on the day you apply. Your employer’s certificate of sponsorship sets out the job and salary; the Home Office checks that they meet the Rules.
Your job and your sponsor
- A job offer from an employer licensed to sponsor Skilled Workers, rated A unless you’re staying with the same sponsor
- A certificate of sponsorship (CoS) for the job, with a start date no more than 3 months after you apply
- An eligible occupation code skilled to degree level. Jobs below that level qualify only in limited cases: mainly Temporary Shortage List or Immigration Salary List jobs with a certificate issued before 31 December 2026, or if you’ve been a Skilled Worker since before 22 July 2025
- A genuine job that you intend and are able to do, not one created for the visa or hiring you out to another business
Your employer chooses the occupation code. If it doesn’t match the duties you’ll actually do, the application can be refused.
The salary requirement
- New entrants (for example under 26, recent students or graduates, or in professional training) can be paid 70% of the going rate, with a floor of £33,400
- A PhD relevant to the job lowers it to 90% of the going rate (floor £37,500), or 80% for a STEM PhD (floor £33,400)
- Immigration Salary List jobs need £33,400 and the full going rate. Listed health and education jobs follow national pay scales, with a floor of £25,000
- Only guaranteed basic pay counts: not overtime, bonuses, allowances or your employer’s pension contributions
First sponsored before 4 April 2024, and on the route ever since? A lower floor of £31,300 and lower going rates apply to applications made before 4 April 2030.
English language
- An approved English test (SELT) passed in the last 2 years, a UK degree, or an overseas degree taught in English and confirmed by Ecctis
- A GCSE, A level or Scottish qualification in English, from a UK school you started before you were 18
- No proof needed if you’re a national of a majority English-speaking country, such as Australia, Canada or the USA
- Doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and vets can rely on an English assessment their regulator accepted
If you proved English at the level you need in an earlier successful application, you don’t have to prove it again.
Savings and your family
- No savings needed if you’ve been in the UK with permission for 12 months, or your A-rated sponsor certifies your maintenance on your certificate
- Your partner and children under 18 can join you if your job is skilled to degree level (RQF 6 or above)
- For jobs below that level, family can join only if you’ve been sponsored in such a job since before 22 July 2025 (11 March 2024 for care workers), with limited exceptions for children
- Partners must be married, in a civil partnership, or have lived together for 2 years (or been together 2 years if you can’t live together)
Your family can work (except as sportspeople) and study, but can’t claim most benefits.
Age, status and history
- You must be 18 or over. In the UK, you can’t switch from a visitor, short-term student, seasonal worker, domestic worker or Parent of a Child Student visa, or from permission outside the Rules
- Care worker and senior care worker jobs can only be applied for from inside the UK
- Afghan nationals can’t apply for a Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK
- A TB test if you’re coming from a listed country, and a criminal record certificate for some health, education and social care jobs
Not sure whether something in your history matters? Tell us at the consultation: it’s confidential.
Documents
Skilled Worker visa documents: the easy part
Most of the job details come from your certificate of sponsorship. Problems usually come from what sits behind it: the occupation code, the salary and your own evidence.
What everyone needs
- Your passport or other travel document
- Your certificate of sponsorship reference number, from your employer
- AProof of your English, or that you don’t need it
- £Proof of savings, unless your employer certifies maintenance or you’re exempt
- A criminal record certificate, if your job needs one
- Proof of your relationship, for a partner or children applying with you
Plus a TB test if you’re coming from a listed country, your PhD evidence if you claim a PhD salary rate, an ATAS certificate if your employer says you need one, and certified translations of anything not in English or Welsh.
Costs & timeline
Skilled Worker visa cost and processing time
From outside the UK, the Home Office fee is £819 for a job of up to 3 years, or £1,618 for longer, plus the health surcharge of £1,035 a year. Most decisions take about 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks in the UK.
| Visa fee, up to 3 years£1,618 if your certificate is for more than 3 years | £819 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge2-year visa at £1,035 a year, as in GOV.UK’s example | £2,070 |
| Home Office total, per applicantbefore an English test, TB test and savings | £2,889 |
| Visa fee, up to 3 years£1,865 if your certificate is for more than 3 years | £943 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge2-year visa at £1,035 a year | £2,070 |
| Home Office total, per applicantbefore an English test, TB test and savings | £3,013 |
Home Office fees from the fees table in force from 8 October 2026 and the health surcharge from GOV.UK, checked 11 October 2026. The surcharge is £1,035 for each year of your visa (£776 for children under 18); your visa runs to 14 days after the end date on your certificate, so you’ll see your exact figure when you apply. Immigration Salary List jobs cost £628 (up to 3 years) or £1,235; Health and Care Worker visas cost £324 or £628, with no surcharge. Your employer pays the £525 certificate fee and the Immigration Skills Charge (£480 to £1,320 for the first 12 months) and can’t pass them on to you. Our consultation fees →
Job offer and certificate
Before you applyYour employer assigns your certificate of sponsorship. Apply within 3 months of getting it, and no more than 3 months before your start date.
Apply and prove your identity
Week 0Online application, fee and surcharge paid, then the ID Check app or an appointment for fingerprints and a photo.
Decision
Usually 3 weeks from outside the UKAbout 8 weeks if you apply in the UK. You may be able to pay for a faster decision.
Change jobs or extend
Up to 5 years at a timeA new employer, or a job with a different occupation code, needs a new certificate and a new application before you start.
Settle (ILR)
After 5 yearsYour employer must still need you, at the required salary. You need the Life in the UK test, and English at B2 if you apply from 26 March 2027.
Avoid a refusal
Common Skilled Worker visa refusal reasons
Most problems come from the job details and the evidence, not from you. These are the issues we check first.
The wrong occupation code
The Home Office can refuse if it thinks your employer chose a code that doesn’t fit the job, for example to meet a lower going rate.
We check: the code against the duties you’ll actually do.
Pay that doesn’t count
Only guaranteed basic pay counts. Overtime, bonuses, allowances and pay for hours over 48 a week are left out.
We check: which parts of your pay count, and against which threshold.
Doubts about the job
The job must be genuine, not created for the visa or a way of hiring you out to another business, and you must be able to do it.
We check: that your skills, experience and the role match.
English evidence that doesn’t count
A test must be an approved SELT passed in the last 2 years, and an overseas degree needs Ecctis to confirm it was taught in English.
We check: your evidence or exemption before you book anything.
Savings not held long enough
If you need to show £1,270, it must have been held for 28 days in a row, ending within 31 days of your application.
We check: your statements, or whether your employer can certify maintenance.
Family who can’t join you
If your job is below degree level, your partner and children usually can’t join you unless you were sponsored before 22 July 2025.
We check: whether your family can come before you accept the job.
How we help
Our Skilled Worker visa services
Choose a one-off consultation, or let us handle your application, and your family’s, from start to finish for a fixed fee.
Eligibility consultation
We check your job, occupation code, salary and English against the current rules, and tell you plainly about any risk.
Evidence review
We check your certificate details, English evidence, savings and family documents before you apply.
Full application
We prepare and submit your application and your family’s, with a cover letter where it helps.
Job changes, extensions and ILR
We help when you change employer, extend your visa and apply to settle after 5 years.
Our scope: we’re regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority at Level 1. If you’re refused, we explain your options, including administrative review, and refer you to a solicitor or higher-level adviser where your case needs a higher level of advice.
FAQs
Skilled Worker visa questions, answered
Can my partner and children come with me?
Usually yes, if your job is skilled to degree level (RQF 6 or above). If it’s below that level, for example on the Temporary Shortage List, they can join you only if you’ve been sponsored in such a job since before 22 July 2025 (11 March 2024 for care workers), with limited exceptions for children, such as a child born in the UK. Each person applies and pays separately, and may need savings: £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each other child. Read our dependant visa guide.
I already have a Skilled Worker visa. Do the new rules apply to me?
Not all of them. If your visa was granted with B1 English, you can extend or change jobs at B1. If you’ve been on the route continuously since before 22 July 2025, you can stay in a job below degree level. If you got your first certificate before 4 April 2024, a lower salary floor of £31,300 and lower going rates apply to applications made before 4 April 2030.
Can I change jobs or employer?
Yes, but if you change employer, or move to a job with a different occupation code, you need a new certificate of sponsorship and a new application before you start. You can apply up to 3 months before the new start date and keep working, or work out your notice, while you wait. If the Home Office has confirmed you’re a victim of modern slavery, your conditions may be changed so you can work for any employer.
Can I have a second job?
Yes, up to 20 hours a week outside your contracted hours, as long as you keep doing your sponsored job. The second job must be in an eligible degree-level occupation, on the Immigration Salary List, or in the same profession and at the same level as your main job. For more than 20 hours, you need a new certificate and an application to add the job.
Can I switch from a Student or Graduate visa?
Yes, if you have a job offer that meets the rules. On a Student visa you must usually have finished your course, or have a job that starts after a degree-level course ends, or be on a full-time PhD with your job starting at least 24 months after the course began. As a recent student or graduate you may count as a new entrant, paid 70% of the going rate with a floor of £33,400, for up to 4 years in total.
Can care workers still get a Skilled Worker visa?
Not from outside the UK. Care worker and senior care worker jobs can only be applied for in the UK: you must already be a Skilled Worker in one of these jobs, or have worked legally for your sponsor in the role for at least 3 months before they issued your certificate, and apply before 22 July 2028. In eligible health and adult social care jobs, the Health and Care Worker visa is cheaper and has no health surcharge.
When can I apply to settle (ILR)?
After 5 continuous years on the route, with no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months; time on some other work routes, such as Scale-up or Global Talent, can count. Your employer must still need you and pay at least the required salary, usually £41,700 and the going rate, with lower figures for some people. You also need the Life in the UK test, and English at B2 if you apply from 26 March 2027. The fee is £3,226 per person.
Related routes
Other work visas
Scale-up Worker visa
Work for a fast-growing business, then change jobs freely.
Read more →Senior or Specialist Worker
Transfer to your employer’s UK business.
Read more →UK Ancestry visa
For Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent.
Read more →Indefinite leave to remain
Settle after 5 years on the route.
Read more →Ready when you are
Sponsored, sorted.
Book a consultation, or start with the free quick check on this page.