The Skilled Worker route has been designed to help UK employers fill a UK vacancy where they have been unable to source a worker within the UK. It is intended for foreign nationals and, now that the UK has left the EU, this includes EU, EEA and Swiss nationals.

Initial/Extension Applications

The following rules apply generally to Skilled Worker applications:

• You must be over 18
• You must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)
• The job you are coming to do must be genuine
• The job you are coming to do must be at an appropriate skill level
• You must be able to demonstrate English language ability to at least CEFR level B1
• Your salary must meet or exceed whichever is the higher of £38,700 or the going rate for your occupation
• You must have enough money to support yourself and your dependents without relying on public funds
• You must have paid the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge

Sponsorship

Your valid CoS must confirm certain details about you such as your name, and the job that you are being sponsored to do. It must also not have been used in another application and it must not have been withdrawn. Your CoS must also have a start date stated which is no more than 3 months after the date of any application you make. Your sponsor must also have paid any relevant Immigration Skills Charge, and they must be A-rated.

It is here that the Home Office will first consider the genuineness of the job. They must not have reason to believe that the job does not exist or that the job has been created mainly so that you can apply for entry clearance or permission to say. If the Home Office believes that these things are true, they can refuse your application.

Appropriate Skill Level

Your job must be listed under an eligible Standard Occupation Code (SOC). The Home Office publishes a list of SOCs which they allow people to use to apply for a Skilled Worker visa. Your SOC must accurately reflect your job. If it does not, and the Home Office believe that you have chosen an SOC that is not suited for your job, they can refuse your application.

Your job will need to be described on the CoS that your sponsor has issued you. You must ensure that this description accurately reflects your job as the Home Office can carry out compliance visits with no warning on sponsors and, if your job does not match your CoS, your sponsor could lose their licence and your visa could be revoked.

English Language

You must show English language ability in all four aspects of speaking, reading, writing, and listening to at least level B1 CEFR. This can be shown in various ways. These include but are not limited to, if you are a national of a specified majority English speaking country, if you have certain tertiary academic qualifications, or if you have passed a Home Office approved English language test.

Tradeable Points

The Home Office operates a tradeable points framework to assess a person’s salary. Different attributes held by applicants can affect how much they need to be earning at their job in the UK. The general salary threshold for Skilled Workers is £38,700. However, depending on your SOC, your salary may need to be higher than this because each SOC has its own ‘going rate’. You must be paid either £38,700 or the going rate for your SOC (adjusted for the hours you will work), whichever is the higher.

In addition, if you hold a PhD relevant to your job, a STEM PhD, or you are being sponsored for a job that the Home Office considers to be in short supply, then you can be paid less. This list is not exhaustive.

Genuineness

The Home Office will again here look at the job you are being sponsored to do and consider whether it is genuine. You must be able to demonstrate that you genuinely intend to do the job, that you are genuinely able to do the job, and that you do not intend to undertake employment other than that which you are being sponsored to do (unless certain conditions are fulfilled).

Financial Requirement

If you are already in the UK and have been for 12-months or longer, you will generally be considered to meet the financial requirement. If not, you must show funds of at least £1,270 that you have held for at least a 28-day period. These funds must be readily available to you.

Alternatively, your sponsor could “certify” your maintenance. This will be displayed on your CoS and means that your sponsor agrees to maintain and accommodate you (and any relevant dependents) up to the end of your first month of your employment to at least £1,270.

Duration of Visa

If successful, your visa can be granted for up to five years. If your visa is granted for less than five years, you can extend it if you wish. After five years in the UK as a Skilled Worker, you can apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain).

Settlement

To settle in the UK as a skilled worker, you must meet the Home Office’s continuous residence requirement. This means, in general, you must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any consecutive 12-month period during the five years of your stay in the UK. This can be difficult to calculate, and there are certain exceptions. Please contact us if you would like to discuss your circumstances.

Cost and Time

If you apply inside the UK, it takes an average of 8 weeks for a Skilled Worker application to be processed. If you are outside of the UK, it takes an average of 3 weeks for a Skilled Worker application to be processed.

The application fee varies depending on where you are applying from (inside or outside the UK), how long your visa is going to be for (up to 3 years or more than 3 years), whether your job is on the Home Office’s Immigration Salary List, and whether your dependents are applying with you. For single applicants with no dependants, the cost ranges from £551 to £1,636 at time of writing.

You will also have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge which is calculated based on how long you will be in the UK. This must be paid upfront. This is currently £1,035 per person per year for an adult.

How we can help

As each case is unique, and no one circumstance fits all, please contact our specialist Immigration Advisors to assist with your application.

Our advisors can:

• Assist with making an initial, extension or settlement application
• Review documents to obtain the complete facts of a case, and provide relevant solutions
• Prepare detailed covering representations, tailored to your circumstances, to give your application the best chance of success
• Assist with the submission of applications and the booking of biometrics appointments
• Communicate and chase up with relevant authorities until a decision is made
• Advise about your rights and entitlements following the submission of an application
• Provide follow up support and services