Apply for a UK Work Visa – UK Immigration

To work in the UK, you will need to be sponsored by a UK organisation that holds a valid sponsor licence. If you are offered a role, they will issue you with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), which will allow you to make an application to work in the UK.

To apply for a work visa, you must be able to provide:

• A valid passport or equivalent travel document;
• Your Certificate of Sponsorship reference number;
• Evidence of how you meet the English language requirement
• Evidence of how you meet the maintenance requirement

Additional documents may be required depending on the country you will be applying form (or the visa you will be switching from if applying from within the UK), the role you are intending to take and if your family members are also applying with you as your dependants. You may need to upload copies of these documents as part of your online application, or take them with you to a visa application centre.

The organisation that you will be working for in the UK must hold a valid sponsor licence, and must issue you with a Certificate of Sponsorship.

You can apply for a Sportsperson visa if all the following apply:

• You are an elite sportsperson or qualified coach, who is recognised by your sport’s governing body as being at the highest level of your profession internationally
• Your sport’s governing body is empowered to endorse your application
• Your employment will develop your sport in the UK at the highest level
• You meet other eligibility requirements

Speak to a member of the team at Latitude Law if you are unsure about your eligibility for this visa route.

The organisation that you will be working for in the UK must hold a valid sponsor licence for this visa route, and must issue you with a Certificate of Sponsorship. You can apply for a Minister of Religion visa if:

• You’ve been offered a job within a faith community (for example as a minister of religion, missionary, or member of a religious order) in the UK
• You meet the other eligibility requirements, notably ability in English at the higher B2 CEFR level

There are specific restrictions that apply to workers who come to the UK under a Minister of Religion visa, and it is important to understand how these apply before deciding whether or not this is the most suitable visa route for you.

There are several types of temporary visa, each of which is intended for a different type of employment. Different eligibility criteria apply to each type, as we have outlined below:

• Charity Worker visa (Temporary Work) is for workers who have an unpaid/voluntary job offer and a Certificate of Sponsorship from a UK charity with a valid sponsorship licence. The job taken must be directly related to the sponsor charity’s work.
• Creative Worker visa or the International Sportsperson visa (Temporary Work) are for highly skilled workers who have a job offer as a creative worker or sportsperson – such as a musician or actor – in the UK, and a Certificate of Sponsorship from a UK employer with a valid sponsorship licence. Sportspeople on the International Sportsperson visa must be internationally established at the highest level in their sport, and/or their job must make a significant contribution to the development and running of sport at the highest level.
• Government Authorised Exchange visa (Temporary Work) is for workers coming to the UK through an approved government authorised exchange scheme. This visa allows the worker to do work experience, training, academic research or a fellowship, and to take part in an Overseas Government Language Programme.
• International Agreement visa (Temporary Work) is for workers who have a job offer that is covered by international law, such as embassy and diplomatic household workers, and a Certificate of Sponsorship from an organisation with a valid sponsor licence. This includes workers under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and similar agreements.
• Religious Worker visa (Temporary Work) is for workers offered a job, such as preaching or work in a monastery or convent, by a religious order in the UK.
• Seasonal Worker visa (Temporary Work) is for workers in edible horticulture doing seasonal work in the UK with a sponsor.

In some cases, it can be complicated to determine which type of visa is the best to meet your needs. Latitude Law can advise you on the most appropriate visa for your employment and support you through the application process.

Yes. There was previously a maximum time limit that you could spend in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa; however, this has now been removed.

You can stay in the UK for a maximum of 12 or 24 months depending on which sub-category of Temporary Worker you apply under.

If you applied from outside the UK, your passport will be endorsed with a 90-day travel vignette and you will be provided with a letter confirming permission has been granted. The 90-day travel visas should be valid from the intended travel date, as stated on your visa application form. You must travel to the UK within the 30-day validity of the travel visa or it will expire, and you will need to apply for a replacement visa.

If your visa is for a period of six months or less, your ‘full visa’ will be issued as a stamp in your passport and you will not need to collect a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) upon arrival to the UK.

Otherwise, your ‘full visa’ will be issued in the form of a BRP and will be available for collection once you arrive in the UK. Once in the UK, you must collect your BRP within 10 days of arrival, from the Post Office branch detailed in the decision letter.

If your application is approved from inside the UK, the Home Office will issue your BRP card for the duration of your Certificate of Sponsorship and send this to you directly when your application is approved.

Suitable job roles for sponsorship can be found in Appendix Skilled Occupations. Your employment role must fit appropriately under this code and you will also need to be paid an appropriate salary for the role as confirmed in the Immigration Rules.

Some job roles can be found in Appendix Shortage Occupations. These are occupations that UK employers are struggling to fill. When you are applying to fill a shortage occupation role, there is a reduction of the salary you must be paid and also the application fees you will need to pay.

Jobs on the UK Shortage Occupation List are generally very specific, so we will need to assess your circumstances and the job that you will be doing to determine whether you fit into one of these roles.

Yes, you can switch employers on a Skilled Worker visa. You will be required to get a new CoS and submit a new Skilled Worker application before you can make the switch.

You may be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) based on your Skilled Worker permission once you have resided in the UK continuously for five years. As a general requirement, you can only apply if you meet the continuous residency requirement for the five years your sponsor still needs you for the job, you are paid the relevant salary listed in the Code of Practice and you meet the minimum salary for the ILR. Absences are generally limited to 180 days in any rolling 12-month period.

There are several sponsorship eligibility requirements that businesses must meet before employees can make a UK Skilled Worker visa application. They must make an eligible job and hold a sponsor licence, which can only be obtained by businesses that fulfil specific criteria. If your business aims to bring in workers from overseas, your first step should be to understand what type of licence you need – this will depend on whether you intend to hire through the Skilled Worker route or another suitable visa, such as a Seasonal Worker visa.

You must assign members of your organisation to take on legally mandated roles in the sponsorship process. You will usually need someone to act as a key contact with UK Visas and Immigration, an authorising officer to oversee the process, and a user who will handle the day-to-day requirements.

It is vital to collect supporting evidence, including any documentation you are asked to provide during your application. This can be complicated and it is always best to work with a solicitor during this process. There can be significant problems for your business and your workers if your sponsor licence application is rejected, as well as costs to reapply.

Find out more in our guide to sponsor licensing and learn how Latitude Law can help.