The Skilled Worker visa allows an approved UK employer to sponsor an overseas worker to undertake a specific job in an eligible occupation.
It is the UK’s principal sponsored work route and replaced the Tier 2 (General) visa. Applicants require a qualifying job offer from a Home Office-approved sponsor and a valid Certificate of Sponsorship. The route can lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain, subject to the settlement requirements.
The route changed significantly on 22 July 2025. Most new applicants must now be sponsored for a higher-skilled occupation at RQF level 6 or above. RQF level 6 describes the skill level of the job; it does not necessarily mean that the applicant must hold a degree.
Certain medium-skilled occupations at RQF levels 3 to 5 remain eligible where the occupation appears on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List. Transitional arrangements also protect some workers who held continuous Skilled Worker permission under the Rules in force before 22 July 2025.
New overseas applications for care worker and senior care worker roles are no longer permitted. Limited transitional arrangements remain available for certain workers already in the UK.
Dependant restrictions also apply. Workers newly sponsored in medium-skilled occupations through the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List cannot generally bring dependent partners or children. Transitional exceptions may apply to workers who were sponsored under the Rules in force before 22 July 2025 and have held continuous Skilled Worker permission since then.
Salary compliance has also become more closely monitored. For Certificates of Sponsorship assigned on or after 8 April 2026, sponsors must satisfy additional pay-period requirements. The worker must meet the going rate for every hour worked in each pay period and must receive the required proportion of the annual salary over the applicable three-month, 12-week or, for qualifying irregular working patterns, 17-week period.
You may be eligible if:
Applicants whose most recent Skilled Worker permission was granted subject to the former B1 English requirement may continue to rely on B1 when extending or updating their permission.
For a standard Skilled Worker application, the salary must currently be at least £41,700 per year and the full going rate for the relevant occupation code, whichever is higher.
Different thresholds or going-rate percentages may apply to new entrants, applicants with a relevant PhD, applicants with a relevant STEM PhD, Immigration Salary List roles, certain health and education occupations and workers covered by transitional arrangements.
The general annual threshold cannot normally be reduced simply because the job is part-time. Going rates are usually adjusted according to weekly working hours.
Only qualifying guaranteed basic gross pay and payments treated in the same way as basic pay can normally be counted. Overtime, bonuses, most allowances, benefits and other non-guaranteed payments are generally excluded.
Yes, but you will normally need to make a new Skilled Worker application before beginning work for the new employer. The new employer must hold the appropriate sponsor licence and assign a new Certificate of Sponsorship.
You may also need to update your permission if you remain with the same employer but move into a job with a different occupation code. You can normally continue working in your existing sponsored role while the application is being considered, but you must not begin the new sponsored role until permission has been granted.
Supplementary employment may be permitted for up to 20 hours per week, provided you continue working in your sponsored role and the additional work is undertaken outside your sponsored working hours.
For most workers sponsored under the post-July 2025 Rules, supplementary work must be in an eligible higher-skilled occupation. Transitional provisions may apply to workers who have held continuous Skilled Worker permission since before 22 July 2025.
If the additional work does not meet the supplementary-employment conditions, a second Certificate of Sponsorship and a further application may be required.
Your sponsor must report the end of your employment to the Home Office. The Home Office may then cancel or shorten your remaining permission.
You may have a limited period in which to find another licensed sponsor, switch to a different immigration route or leave the UK. Cancellation is not always immediate, but you should not assume that you will receive a fixed period or wait for a Home Office letter before taking advice.
Yes. The Skilled Worker route normally leads to Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years of qualifying continuous residence. Certain periods on other eligible work routes may also be combined toward the five-year period.
At settlement, the applicant must meet the continuous-residence requirements, pass the Life in the UK Test, meet the applicable English-language requirement and satisfy the relevant salary requirement. The sponsor must also remain approved and confirm that the applicant is still required for the foreseeable future.
Dependent partners and children can normally apply where the Skilled Worker is sponsored in an eligible higher-skilled occupation.
However, workers newly sponsored in medium-skilled occupations through the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List cannot generally bring dependants. Separate restrictions apply to care workers and senior care workers.
Transitional exceptions may protect workers sponsored under the Rules in force before the relevant dependant restrictions were introduced, provided they have maintained continuous Skilled Worker permission. The occupation code and immigration history should therefore be checked before any dependant application is prepared.
