Business Skilled Worker Visa 

There are a few requirements that you need to be able to apply, including:

• that you work for an approved UK employer - this is an employer who has been approved by the Home Office.
• that you have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer. This should include information about the role you’ve been offered.
• that the job you’re planning to do is listed as an ‘eligible occupation’
• that you’ll be paid a minimum salary, please note, this will depend on the type of work you’ll be doing.
• Be able to speak, read, write and understand English - please note, that you may be asked to prove this when you apply. 

Remember, you’ll need to have your job offer confirmed, before you start your skilled worker visa application.

Don’t worry if you don’t meet all of the above requirements, because you could be eligible for a different type of visa that allows you to work in the UK.

Read more about other available visa options.

Step 1

First, you’ll need to find out the 4-digit occupation code. You can ask your employer for this if you’ve already had your job offer. 

If you can’t find this, don’t worry, you can search for your job using the ONS occupation coding tool. If your job isn’t found straight away, it’s a good idea to search for similar jobs.

If you find a similar job, be sure to check that the job description matches what you’ll be doing. This is because they may have different codes. As an example, chefs and cooks are different, chefs are eligible for a Skilled Worker visa, whereas cooks aren’t.

Step 2

When you know your occupation code, you can view the table of eligible jobs to see if it’s eligible.

Please note, the table is quite big! So, if you can, it’s a good idea to use your web browser to search for your code on the web page. As a top tip, the table is sorted in order of occupation code, so this may help you find yours quickly.

As long as you’re paid, at least, minimum wage, you can qualify for this visa. This will either be:

£26,200 per year, or 
£10.75 per hour, whichever is higher.

 
However, if the ‘going rate’ for your job is higher than both of these, you’ll usually need to be paid at least the going rate.

Don’t worry, it’s up to your employer to make sure your job pays at least the minimum wage and follows the UK rules for how many hours a week you’ll work.

Please note, if your employer doesn’t do this, your application won’t be accepted.

For example, if your salary is £27,000 per year, but the annual going rate for the job you’ll be doing is £30,000. You won’t meet the usual salary requirements for this visa. You can check the annual going rate for your job in this table.

Good question! Because, there are different salary rules for some healthcare or education jobs, where the going rate is based on national pay scales.

Yes, there are some exceptions if you don’t meet the usual salary requirements, and don’t work in healthcare or education. If you’re an exception, you could be eligible if your salary will be at least £20,960 per year and at least £10.75 per hour. You can check more details about when you can be paid less, here.

As mentioned previously, your job offer will need to be from an approved UK employer (also referred to as a sponsor), before you apply for a Skilled Worker visa. 

Check if your employer is on the list of approved UK employers. Don’t worry if you don’t see them on the list, if they’re eligible, they can apply for a sponsor licence, here.

If your employer applies for a sponsor licence to be an approved employer, they’ll need to pay:

• £536 if they’re a small business or charity
• £1,476 if they’re a medium or large business 

Please note, that it can take around 8 weeks to process.

Your employer (who is also known as your sponsor), can check that you meet the eligibility requirements. After this, they’ll be able to give you a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ and this will be your confirmation that you’ll show during the application process.

What’s a ‘certificate of sponsorship’?

This is an electronic record (so don’t worry about needing a physical document!). It will include a reference number, which you’ll need to have ready for when you’re applying for your visa.

Don’t forget, you’ll need to apply for your visa within 3 months of getting your certificate of sponsorship.

Check if you are eligible for a skilled worker visa