Citizeo Expand your global options
Pathway

UK Skilled Worker Visa

United Kingdom Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

The UK Skilled Worker visa is for people with a qualifying UK job offer from a licensed employer sponsor. It generally requires a Certificate of Sponsorship, an eligible occupation code, salary and going-rate fit, English ability, and standard suitability checks.

Job offer required?
Yes, from a licensed employer
Job
An eligible occupation meeting its applicable salary and going-rate rules
Other requirements
Sponsorship certificate, English, and the required personal checks

Summary

The UK Skilled Worker visa is the main employer-sponsored work route for people with a confirmed offer in an eligible role. It can allow long-term residence and may lead to settlement if the requirements continue to be met.

Make the sponsor, occupation, and salary tests line up
  1. Verify the sponsored role Confirm the employer’s approved status, genuine job, occupation code, skill eligibility, and certificate of sponsorship.
  2. Apply the correct salary rules Check both the general threshold and the occupation’s going rate, with any permitted discount or transitional treatment.
  3. Complete the personal requirements Meet the applicable English, maintenance, and other conditions before filing; plan any dependent applications separately.

A sponsor license or job title alone is insufficient. Shortage-list occupation eligibility does not automatically reduce salary requirements. Permission is tied to the sponsored work, and employer or occupation changes normally require an update.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

You need a genuine eligible job, an approved employer, and a certificate of sponsorship. The usual salary minimum is the higher of £41,700 and the published minimum for your occupation, called its going rate.

Some applicants can use lower thresholds:

The Temporary Shortage List makes certain occupations eligible; it does not automatically lower the salary requirement. Health and education jobs paid on national pay scales use separate tables. Earlier sponsorship certificates and continuous permission from before July 22, 2025 may preserve different job and salary rules.

English is B2 for a new application from 8 January 2026. A worker already granted Skilled Worker under B1 can extend or update at B1 without retesting. Maintenance is normally £1,270 unless the 12-month residence or sponsor-certification exception applies. A current visa brake requires refusal of an entry-clearance application submitted from 26 March 2026 by an Afghan main applicant on this route, even with a certificate; it does not cancel existing permission or prevent an eligible in-country application.

Policy watch 2 developments we’re tracking
Skilled Worker settlement applications will require B2 English
Enacted — not yet in effect

Skilled Worker settlement applications will require B2 English

Current official stage: Immigration Rules laid with a deferred commencement date

From 26 March 2027, a Skilled Worker applying for settlement must meet B2 English unless exempt. The deferred rule applies even to workers already on the pathway, including people whose earlier permission was granted under the former B1 standard.

Timing: The B2 settlement requirement takes effect on 26 March 2027. Applications made before that date remain subject to the rules then in force; applicants planning to file on or after it should prepare for B2 unless an exemption applies.

Last checked
References
Read the full briefing
The five-year settlement timetable may become variable
Consultation — not currently law

The five-year settlement timetable may become variable

Current official stage: Consultation closed; government analyzing feedback

The consultation proposes a 10-year settlement baseline for Skilled Workers, with possible reductions for contribution or integration and possible increases in some cases. Final rules and protection, if any, for people already on the route are unresolved.

Timing: The consultation ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026. GOV.UK currently says the government is analyzing feedback. No general implementation date has been announced, and current settlement rules remain in force unless and until Immigration Rules changes take effect.

Last checked
References
Read the full briefing

What This Route Allows

Permission can last up to five years and be extended. Work is tied to the sponsored job; changing employer or occupation normally requires an update. Up to 20 hours' supplementary work or self-employment is allowed only within current eligible categories while the sponsored job continues. Study is allowed and public funds are barred; IHS normally applies. Standard outside-UK fees are £819 for up to three years or £1,618 for longer; inside-UK fees are £943 or £1,865. Immigration Salary List fees are lower.

Eligible dependents can join, but new medium-skilled sponsorship after 22 July 2025 generally cannot bring dependents unless a listed continuity or child exception applies. Care workers have the stricter 11 March 2024 dependent cut-off and overseas recruitment closure.

Settlement remains available after five qualifying years, subject to continuous residence, continuing sponsor need, the route-specific salary and Life in the UK. Before 26 March 2027 the main worker has no separate settlement English test because English was met for permission; the enacted rules require B2 for main-worker settlement applications from that date. An adult dependent settling before then normally needs B1, rising to B2 on the same date.

What This Route Is Not

A sponsor license or job title alone does not establish eligibility: occupation code, skill level, hours, salary and going rate must all align. The Temporary Shortage List is not a promise of permanent availability.

Next Steps

  1. Verify the sponsor and route on the license register and independently check the occupation code.
  2. Compare salary against both the general threshold and prorated going rate, documenting any tradeable option.
  3. Check B2/B1 transitional English and dependent cut-offs before filing.
  4. Preserve certificates, contracts, payslips, eVisa records and absences for updates and settlement.

Stay up to date on this pathway

Get an email when something important changes.

No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Discussed in these reports

Similar skilled worker pathways in other destinations.

Sources