How to Work and Immigrate to the UK as Skilled Workers?

Your UK employer

Before applying for a UK Skilled Worker visa, you must have an employment offer from an authorized UK business because they support you in coming to or staying in the UK. Sponsor is another word for approved employers. View the authorized UK employers list. If your employer isn’t approved, they can apply for a sponsor license if they meet the requirements.

They will be charged a fee of £536 for small enterprises and charities and £1,476 for large and medium-sized companies. A license application typically takes 8 weeks to process.

You will be checked for eligibility by your employer, who is also known as your sponsor. The sponsor will provide you with a “certificate of sponsorship.” A sponsorship certificate is not a physical document but rather an electronic record. For your visa application, you’ll need a reference number. You must file for your visa within three months of receiving your sponsorship certificate.

English Proficiency

Unless you have already successfully applied for a visa, you will normally be required to demonstrate your understanding of the English language when you apply. You must demonstrate that you can read, speak, write, and understand English at the CEFR level B1.

You may demonstrate your command of the English language by:

• Completing a Secure English Language Test (SELT) administered by an authorized provider
• Holding a GCSE. Your level must be Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English. It must be obtained via study at a UK school when under the age of 18.
• Holding a degree-level academic qualification delivered in English. If you studied overseas, you must apply to Ecctis for certification that your qualification is comparable to a UK bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. degree.

If you are from one of the nations below or territories, you do not need to demonstrate your command of the English language if you want to immigrate to the UK as a skilled worker.

What is the UK’s Points-Based Immigration System?

There is a points-based immigration system for the new UK Skilled Worker Visa. To qualify for the visa, applicants must score at least 70 points. Applicants can accrue points through their level of education and a shortage occupation role.

The ‘mandatory’ points are as follows:

• 20 points: A job offer from a UK business with a sponsorship license
• 20 points: Job with the required skill level.
• 10 points: English proficiency at the B1 level.

An additional 20 points will be awarded to the candidate if the position pays at least £25,600 per year or at the current market rate, whichever is higher.

However, tradeable points allow you to attain the 70-point mark without necessarily earning at least £25,600 every year.

The following is how the tradeable points work:

• 0 point: A salary of at least £20,480 to £23,039, or at least 80% of the profession’s market rate (whichever is higher)
• 10 points: A salary of at least £23,040 to £25,599, or at least 90% of the profession’s market rate (whichever is higher).
• 20 points: A salary of at least £25,600. It can be the going rate for the job.
• 10 points: For a job in a scarce occupation.
• 10 points: Ph.D. in a field related to the job.
• 20 points: Ph.D. in a STEM field related to the job.

It is vital to remember that the wage regulations for employment in healthcare and education are different. An impartial organization determines the going wage for these jobs.

How to Immigrate to the UK as Skilled Workers?

The application for a UK skilled worker visa is online. How you apply is determined by whether you are:

• Outside of the UK and are visiting the UK
• Within the United Kingdom and extending your present visa
• Within the UK and changing from another visa

If you wish to change jobs or employers, you must apply to have your visa updated.

UK Skilled Worker Visa Requirements

To immigrate to the UK as skilled workers, you must prove your identity as part of your application. This is determined by where you are from and the sort of passport you hold. When you apply, you must include the following information:

• Your certificate of the sponsorship reference number, which you will get from your employer
• Evidence of your command of the English language
• A current passport or other proof proving your identity and nationality
• Your title and yearly salary
• The occupation code for your work
• Your employer’s name and sponsor license number, which are on your sponsorship certificate

Depending on your situation, you may be requested to provide:

• Bank statements prove that you have adequate personal funds to maintain yourself in the UK.
• Evidence of your bond with your partner or children if they apply.
• If you are from a specified nation, your TB test results.
• A criminal record certificate – if you operate in specific occupations.
• A genuine ATAS certificate if your employer advises that you need one because your employment requires PhD-level or higher research on a sensitive issue.
• If your criteria is from outside the UK, you must apply through Ecctis with your Ecctis reference number (formerly your unique UK NARIC reference number).

An empty page in your passport is required for your visa if you are:

• From a country other than the EU, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, or Switzerland
• Not having a biometric passport with a chip from the EU, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, or Switzerland
• A certified translation must be provided if your paperwork is not in English or Welsh.

If you are applying from outside the UK and operate in the following industries, you must present a criminal record certificate:

If you’ve lived in more than one nation, you may be required to present a certificate from each one. It is determined by your age and the duration you have spent in each nation.

• If you are under the age of 28, you will require a certificate from every nation you have lived in for one year or more since 18.
• If you are 28 or more, you will require a certificate from any nation you have visited in the past ten years.

How to Apply for a UK Skilled Worker Visa?

You may save your form and return to it once you’ve begun your application. Sign in to your profile using the link in your confirmation email. After you apply, you can request that your application be canceled. Your money will be reimbursed only if UKVI has not begun processing your application.

You will receive an email with the outcome of your application. This will explain what steps you must take next.

After you’ve applied online, verified your identification, and submitted your paperwork, you should receive a decision within three weeks.

If your application will take more time than expected, for instance, because:

• Your supporting documentation must be validated.
• You must attend an interview.
• Your circumstances, such as whether you have a criminal record

You could be capable of paying to receive a speedier decision; if so, you will be informed when you apply.

How Long is a UK Skilled Worker Visa Valid?

Your visa might be valid for up to 5 years before it has to be extended. However, when your visa expires or if you change employment or employers, you must seek to renew or update it.

Can You Extend your UK Skilled Worker Visa?

You can extend your visa as long as you match the qualifying conditions. After 5 years, you may be qualified to apply for permanent residence in the UK. This provides you the chance to live, work, and study in the country for as long as you like and seek benefits if you qualify.

If all of the conditions below are satisfied, you can normally seek to extend a Skilled Worker visa:

• You maintain the same job you had when you were granted permission earlier to enter or remain in the UK.
• Your job has the same occupation code as the time you were granted earlier permission.
• You are working for the company that issued you your current sponsorship certificate.
• To renew their visa, your partner or children must apply individually. They can apply simultaneously as you or whenever their existing visa expires.

Note: Before your existing visa expires, you must apply online.

You may save your form and return to it once you’ve begun your application. Sign in to your profile using the link in your confirmation email. You should receive a verdict within 8 weeks of submitting your application. You will be notified if your application will take longer for reasons like:

• Your supporting documentation must be validated.
• You must attend an interview.
• Your situation, such as whether you have a criminal record

You may be able to pay to receive a quicker decision; if so, you will be informed when you apply. If you need to modify your application after you’ve submitted it, contact UK Visas and Immigration. You have the option of canceling your application. Your money will be reimbursed only if UKVI has yet to begin processing your application. The outcome of your application will be communicated to you by email or letter. This will explain what steps you must take next.

How Much is the Fee for a UK Skilled Worker Visa?

The time you apply for a UK Skilled Worker visa, you must have enough money to:

• Pay the application cost – based on your circumstances, the usual price varies from £625 to £1,423.
• Make the healthcare surcharge payment (normally £624 per year)
• You’ll need at least £1,270 to support yourself financially when you land in the UK (unless you’re exempt).

You will pay a lesser application price if your work is on the shortage occupation list. When you apply, you will be notified how much you must pay.

How to Switch to a UK Skilled Worker Visa?

If you are already located in the UK on another sort of visa, you may be eligible to apply to change to a Skilled Worker visa.

Your partner or dependent children must apply for a new visa individually. They can apply simultaneously as you or whenever their existing visa expires. You must satisfy the following criteria:

• Your position satisfies the qualifying criteria
• You can communicate, read, write, and comprehend English

If you are presently in the UK on the following visas, you cannot seek to convert to this visa:

• Immigration bail
• Visit visa
• Seasonal worker visa
• Parent of a Child Student visa
• Short-term student visa
• Domestic worker on a private household visa
• Because you were granted permission to remain outside of immigration laws, such as on humanitarian grounds

You will need to exit the UK and apply for a Skilled Worker visa overseas if you belong to one of these categories.

Before your existing visa expires, you must apply online. You may save your form and return to it once you’ve begun your application.

Sign in to your profile using the link in your confirmation email. You should receive a decision within 8 weeks of submitting your application. Skilled Worker visa decisions presently take an average of 9 weeks.

If your application will take more time than expected, for instance, because:

• Your supporting documentation must be validated.
• You must attend an interview.
• Your circumstances, such as whether you have a criminal record

You may be able to pay to receive a speedier decision; if so, you will be informed when you apply.

If you need to modify your application after you’ve submitted it, contact UK Visas and Immigration. You have the option of canceling your application. Your money will be reimbursed only if UKVI has yet to begin processing your application. The verdict on your application will be communicated to you by email or letter. This will explain what steps you must take next.