The UK Skilled Worker visa allows a foreign professional to live and work in the UK for an employer that holds a sponsor licence. It can be granted for up to 5 years and extended, it allows you to bring your partner and children, and after 5 years of lawful residence it can lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), also known as settlement.
What the Skilled Worker visa is and who it is for
The Skilled Worker visa is the main UK work visa for qualified professionals from overseas. It replaced the Tier 2 (General) visa, which is why the old name still appears in everyday conversation and in older documents. The core principle is simple: your right to work in the UK is tied to a specific employer and a specific role. You cannot apply without a confirmed job offer from an organisation approved by the Home Office.
The visa suits people who already have a job offer from a UK company and plan a long-term move: engineers, IT specialists, finance professionals, analysts, managers, researchers and teachers. You can check whether a prospective employer holds a sponsor licence in the public register of licensed sponsors. You can apply from outside the UK, or from inside the UK if you already hold another visa, such as the Graduate visa.
Doctors, nurses and other health and adult social care professionals should first check whether they qualify for the separate Health and Care Worker visa: it is cheaper to apply for, and holders do not pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
To work out whether you are likely to qualify, it helps to go through the criteria one by one: the employer, the skill level of the role, the salary, your English and your finances.
Requirements for a UK Skilled Worker visa
In short, you need a confirmed job offer from a licensed sponsor, a certificate of sponsorship, a role at the required skill level, a salary at or above the relevant threshold and English at level B2. In some cases you also need to show maintenance funds and provide a tuberculosis test certificate.
Sponsoring employer and certificate of sponsorship (CoS)
Your employer must hold a valid sponsor licence. For each worker, the sponsor assigns a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) — an electronic record containing details of the role, salary and start date. Under the GOV.UK guidance for employers, you must apply for your visa within 3 months of the certificate being assigned to you, and no more than 3 months before the job start date shown on it.
The employer pays for the certificate, which costs £525. The sponsor also pays the Immigration Skills Charge for hiring a worker from overseas. If the company does not yet have a licence, it first needs to obtain a UK sponsorship licence before it can assign a certificate.
Skill level and minimum salary
Since 22 July 2025, new applicants can only be sponsored for higher-skilled roles at RQF level 6, which is degree level. Medium-skilled roles are only eligible if the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List. According to GOV.UK, the general salary threshold is £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher.
| Applicant’s situation | Minimum salary |
|---|---|
| General rule | £41,700 a year or the going rate, whichever is higher |
| New entrant: under 26, a recent graduate, a student or in professional training | 70% of the going rate, and at least £33,400 a year; total time on the visa limited to 4 years |
| STEM PhD relevant to the job | 80% of the going rate, and at least £33,400 a year |
| Non-STEM PhD relevant to the job | 90% of the going rate, and at least £37,500 a year |
| Occupation on the Immigration Salary List | At least £33,400 a year and no less than the going rate |
The conditions for the lower thresholds are set out on the “When you can be paid less” page. If you are extending a visa based on a certificate of sponsorship issued before 22 July 2025, earlier and more favourable rules may apply — this needs to be checked case by case.
English language at level B2
Since 8 January 2026, new applicants must prove English at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). If you are extending a visa granted before that date, level B1 is enough and you do not need to prove it again. You can meet the requirement with a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider, a UK qualification, or a degree taught in English abroad confirmed by Ecctis. Nationals of a number of majority English-speaking countries are exempt — the full list is in the GOV.UK section on knowledge of English.
Maintenance funds and tuberculosis test
You must show at least £1,270 in your bank account. The money must have been available for at least 28 days in a row, and day 28 must fall within 31 days of your application. You do not need to show funds if you have held a valid UK visa for 12 months or more, or if your employer certifies that it will cover your costs for the first month. If you have lived in a country on the Home Office list, you must include a tuberculosis test certificate, which is valid for 6 months from the date of your X-ray.
Eligibility checklist for a UK Skilled Worker visa application
- Job offer from an employer holding a valid sponsor licence
- Certificate of sponsorship assigned to you no more than 3 months ago
- Higher-skilled role from the list of eligible occupations
- Salary of at least £41,700 a year or the going rate, if higher
- English language at level B2 on the CEFR scale
- Savings of at least £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days
- Tuberculosis test certificate for residents of listed countries
If the answer to every point is yes, the next question is which family members can move with you.
Who you can include in your Skilled Worker application
Your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner, and your children under 18 — including children born in the UK during your stay — can apply as your dependants. Unmarried partners need to show that they have lived together for at least 2 years or otherwise demonstrate a durable relationship. Dependants can work (except as a sportsperson or sports coach) and study, but cannot claim most public funds.
An important restriction applies to medium-skilled roles. If the main applicant works in a medium-skilled job, dependants can only join if the main applicant has been continuously employed in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa in a medium-skilled role since before 22 July 2025. In practice, this means that new applicants for medium-skilled roles generally cannot bring dependants on this route — see the GOV.UK page on partners and children for details. If your family cannot join on this route, consider UK family visas instead.
Each family member pays the same visa fee as the main applicant, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge. On top of £1,270, you need extra funds for each dependant: £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each additional child, also held for 28 consecutive days.
A family application consists of several separate sets of documents, which must be consistent with each other in dates, amounts and relationship details. That is why it makes sense to prepare dependant applications at the same time as the main one.
Relocating with your family: how Imperial & Legal can help
- Assessment of your partner’s and children’s eligibility as dependants
- Selection of evidence of cohabitation for unmarried partners
- Calculation of visa fees, health surcharge and funds for the family
- Preparation of dependant applications alongside the main one
- Review of translated marriage and birth certificates
- Support at the identity verification and biometrics stage
- Advice on relocation: housing, bank accounts and tax
Once you know who is coming with you, you can work out the full budget for every applicant.
UK Skilled Worker visa costs in 2026
The total cost is made up of the visa application fee, the Immigration Health Surcharge for each year of the visa and the maintenance funds you need to show in your account. The certificate of sponsorship and the Immigration Skills Charge are paid by the employer. Current rates are published on the GOV.UK page on visa costs and in the guidance on the health surcharge.
| Cost item | Who pays | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee, visa up to 3 years, applying from outside the UK | Applicant | £819 per person |
| Application fee, visa over 3 years, applying from outside the UK | Applicant | £1,618 per person |
| Application fee, visa up to 3 years, applying from inside the UK | Applicant | £943 per person |
| Application fee, visa over 3 years, applying from inside the UK | Applicant | £1,865 per person |
| Reduced fee for occupations on the Immigration Salary List | Applicant | £628 (up to 3 years) or £1,235 (over 3 years) |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | Applicant and dependants | £1,035 a year; £776 a year for applicants under 18 |
| Maintenance funds (stay in your account) | Applicant | £1,270, plus £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each additional child |
| Certificate of sponsorship (CoS) | Employer | £525 |
| Immigration Skills Charge | Employer | £1,320 for the first 12 months for medium and large sponsors, £480 for small or charitable sponsors; then £660 or £240 for each additional 6 months |
Example: one adult applies from outside the UK for a 5-year visa. The application fee is £1,618 and the health surcharge is 5 × £1,035 = £5,175, giving £6,793 in official fees. The surcharge is paid upfront for the whole length of the visa as part of the application. The £1,270 is not spent — it simply has to be in your account. For a family of three, costs rise accordingly, as each applicant pays their own application fee and health surcharge.
How to get a UK Skilled Worker visa: 5 stages
The whole journey, from the first consultation to receiving the visa, usually takes around 3 months. The least predictable part is the Home Office decision: according to GOV.UK, you will usually get a decision within 3 weeks if you apply from outside the UK and within 8 weeks if you apply from inside the UK. It can take longer in some cases, for example if the Home Office needs to verify documents or invites you to an interview.
Consultation and assessment of visa eligibility
Obtaining a certificate of sponsorship from the employer
Preparing and submitting the visa application
Home Office decision and moving to the UK
Visa extension, settlement and British citizenship
At every stage, timing depends not only on the Home Office but also on how quickly the employer assigns the certificate and how complete the documents are. Delays most often arise where the employer, the applicant and the family all need to align.
End-to-end support
UK Skilled Worker visa with Imperial & Legal
Eligibility assessment
Checks on your role, occupation code, salary and English
Working with your sponsor
Review of certificate of sponsorship details before issue
Application preparation
Gathering, translating and checking supporting documents
Visas for your family
Partner and child applications with all fees calculated
Even with a clear plan, an application can be refused because of a single missing document. That is why it pays to prepare the document bundle against a checklist in advance.
Documents for a UK Skilled Worker visa
The exact document list is generated by the Home Office system from your answers in the online form, but for most applicants it looks much the same. The core bundle includes:
- a valid passport or other travel document;
- your certificate of sponsorship reference number, job title, occupation code and annual salary;
- proof of English: a SELT certificate, a degree or Ecctis confirmation;
- bank statements showing £1,270 held for 28 days, unless your employer covers these costs;
- a tuberculosis test certificate, if you have lived in a listed country;
- for dependants: marriage or civil partnership certificates, children’s birth certificates and evidence of living together;
- where relevant, proof of a PhD or new entrant status for a lower salary threshold.
Documents in other languages must be submitted with translations. You can prove your identity using the UK Immigration: ID Check app or at a visa application centre, where your fingerprints and photo are taken — which option applies depends on your nationality and type of passport. After that, all that remains is to upload your documents and wait for the decision.
Practical examples: typical applicant situations
The requirements are the same for everyone, but in practice each case develops in its own way. Here are some typical scenarios that applicants bring to advisers.
An overseas professional with an offer from a London company
A pharmacist or IT engineer receives an offer, but the employer is hiring from overseas for the first time. Here it is important to check the occupation code and salary against the going rate before the certificate is assigned: a wrong occupation code can lead to a refusal. In parallel, the applicant takes a B2 English test and collects 28 days of bank statements.
A UK graduate switching to a work visa
A graduate living in the UK on the Graduate visa can apply for a Skilled Worker visa from inside the UK. As a new entrant, they may qualify for the lower threshold of 70% of the going rate, subject to a minimum of £33,400 a year. The key is to plan the timing so that the new application is submitted before the current visa expires.
Changing employer or sponsor restructuring
The visa is tied to a specific employer, so moving to another company or a restructuring of the sponsor’s business requires a new certificate and a new application. Under GOV.UK rules, if you change your job or employer you must apply to update your visa, so it is worth checking the process and timing before you resign from your current role.
Below are real stories of clients who went through similar situations.
Client stories on the Skilled Worker visa
Obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship and UK Skilled Worker Visa
Aigul is from Kazakhstan. She is an experienced pharmacist with a medical degree who finds a perfect job in the United Kingdom and wants to relocate...
UK Skilled Worker Visa for a Young Specialist And His Fiancée
People come to Imperial & Legal from all over the world. They are all different but all of them want to relocate to the UK. Some want to get...
Reapplying for a UK Skilled Worker Visa after Refusal due to Inaccurate Paperwork
Adel studied at a British university on a UK Student visa. She found a job after graduating. Her future employer was ready to sponsor her so that she...
Obtaining a UK Skilled Worker Visa after Graduation
Mansur is from Iran. He studies at a university in the United Kingdom and after graduation, considers staying here for good. After completing his university degree, Mansur could stay and...
Obtaining Sponsorship Licence for Pharmaceutical Company To Employ Foreign Specialist
A foreign specialist cannot come to the UK to look for a job; there is no such visa. But they can apply for a work visa after getting employed by a...
One client described how her story began when her future employer did not know how to arrange a visa for an overseas specialist:
I got a degree in Astana, my hometown, and spent several years working in my field. As time went by, I realised I wanted to build a career in Europe. I started looking for vacancies and found a perfect one in a UK company. However, my future employer did not have a clue about how to obtain a UK visa for a foreign specialist. To make things even more complicated, I wanted to bring my husband with me. I was advised to get in touch with Imperial & Legal.
Stories like these show that the employer and the employee go through the process together: a mistake on the company’s side affects the worker’s application, and vice versa.
Skilled Worker and other UK work visas compared
The Skilled Worker visa is not the only way to work in the UK. The right route depends on whether you have a job offer, whether a multinational company is transferring you and whether you plan to stay long term. The key difference between the Skilled Worker visa and many alternatives is that time on it counts towards settlement.
| Visa | Sponsoring employer needed | Leads to settlement | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker | Yes | Yes | Professionals with a job offer from a licensed sponsor |
| Health and Care Worker | Yes | Yes | Doctors, nurses and health and adult social care professionals |
| Global Business Mobility | Yes, the worker is sent by an overseas business | No, not directly | Employees transferred to a UK branch of their company |
| Global Talent | No, an endorsement is required instead | Yes | Recognised leaders in science, technology, arts and culture |
| Graduate | No | No | Graduates of UK universities looking for work or experience |
For most professionals who already have an offer from a UK company and are planning a long-term move, the Skilled Worker visa remains the main option. If you do not yet have a job offer, or your employer is transferring you from another country, it makes sense to compare the alternative routes at a consultation first.
Whichever route you choose, the result depends heavily on how well the application is prepared and how far ahead the next steps — extensions and settlement — are planned.
Benefits of applying for a work visa with Imperial & Legal
- Assessment of your prospects before applying and before signing a contract
- Checks on the occupation code, going rate and skill level of the role
- Liaison with the employer on the certificate of sponsorship
- Preparation of a complete document bundle for you and your family
- Support with visa extensions and changes of employer
- Planning of settlement timing with absences from the UK in mind
- Consultations in English and Russian for the whole family
For many clients, the work visa is only the first step, so it is worth understanding early on how the move to permanent status works.
The route to settlement and British citizenship
Under the current rules, a Skilled Worker visa holder can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after living and working in the UK for 5 years on a qualifying visa. You can apply up to 28 days before you reach 5 years. Your employer must confirm that they still need you, and your salary must meet the requirements. Applicants aged 18 to 64 must pass the Life in the UK Test, which costs £50. According to GOV.UK, the ILR application fee is £3,226 per person. More on the process is on the Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK page.
In late 2025, the government published the consultation “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement” on an earned settlement model. It proposes raising the baseline qualifying period for settlement from 5 to 10 years, with reductions available, for example, for higher earners. As of the end of September 2026, these changes had not taken effect, and transitional arrangements for existing visa holders had not been published. Separately, the government has announced that a higher standard of English will be required for settlement from March 2027, as set out in the official GOV.UK announcement.
Once you have ILR, the route to a British passport opens up. The timing and conditions for naturalisation depend on your personal circumstances and are covered in detail on the British citizenship page.
Common mistakes in Skilled Worker visa applications
Most refusals are caused not by applicants failing to meet the requirements, but by inconsistencies in documents and timing. These are the mistakes that come up most often:
- The wrong occupation code on the certificate of sponsorship. The code determines both the going rate and the skill level, so an error can make the application fail.
- A salary above the general threshold but below the going rate. The higher of the two figures applies, not just £41,700.
- Missing the certificate deadlines. Applying more than 3 months after the certificate was assigned, or more than 3 months before the job starts.
- Incorrect evidence of funds. Money held for fewer than 28 days, or a statement more than 31 days old on the date of application.
- English below the required level. Since 8 January 2026, new applicants need level B2, and a B1 certificate only works for extending older visas.
- Changing jobs without updating the visa. Moving to a new employer without a new application puts your status at risk.
- Long trips abroad. Frequent or lengthy absences can complicate a settlement application.
Almost all of these mistakes can be spotted in advance if the certificate, statements and dates are checked before the application goes to the Home Office. If a first application has already been refused, the options are explained on the UK visa refusal and appeal page.
Preparing to move is about more than the visa: it is also worth thinking about housing, schools for your children, a bank account and your tax position in the UK.
How to prepare for your move on a Skilled Worker visa
The Skilled Worker visa remains the clearest route for a professional with an offer from a UK company. The requirements have become stricter: the salary threshold and skill level have gone up, and English must now be at level B2. On the other hand, the rules are transparent, and with proper preparation the whole process takes a few months.
Before you apply, it is worth looking at what happens after you arrive. Once you move, you are likely to become UK tax resident — how that status is determined is explained on the Tax residency in UK page, and practical help with settling in is described in the relocation services section.
Key takeaways on the UK Skilled Worker visa
- You need a job offer and a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed sponsor.
- The general salary threshold is £41,700 a year or the going rate, if higher.
- New applicants need English at level B2 and a role at RQF level 6 or above.
- The application fee starts from £819, and the health surcharge is £1,035 a year per adult.
- Decisions usually take 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside.
- Under current rules you can apply for settlement after 5 years; reform is still under discussion.
This page is for general information only and is not individual legal advice. Immigration rules change, so check the current GOV.UK guidance or discuss your situation with an adviser before you apply.
