United Kingdom · Work authorisation

Skilled Worker visa

Issued by UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office). It is checked against conditions rather than scored, so the question is whether you meet each one, not how many points you gather.

Basis
Checklist
Steps
4
Possible outcomes
3
Last checked
2026-08-09

Conditions

What this permit
asks of you.

Which desk decides

The authority, exactly

This route does not exist without an employer that already holds a Home Office sponsor licence: a licence is what lets an employer issue the certificate of sponsorship (CoS) the application is built on. Sponsoring someone is not a guarantee the visa is granted. Post-Brexit, an EU/EEA citizen who does not already hold status from the EU Settlement Scheme needs this same permission like any other non-British, non-Irish national — Appendix Skilled Worker's rule text carries no EU exemption.

2026 figure

Salary floor

GBP 41,700 a year

You need whichever is higher of the £41,700 standard rate or your occupation's own 'going rate'. Several conditions move that floor: on the Immigration Salary List, the minimum drops to £33,400 a year, but you must still meet your occupation's going rate. If you are under 26, a recent graduate, or in professional training, you may be paid 70% of the going rate. With a STEM PhD relevant to the job, 80% of the going rate. With a relevant PhD in another subject, at least £37,500 (90% of the going rate). Healthcare and education roles are not measured against £41,700 at all — the floor there is £25,000 a year or the applicable national pay scale rate, whichever is higher. A separate legacy rate — whichever is higher of £31,300 or the lower going rate — applies only if your first certificate of sponsorship (Tier 2 or Skilled Worker) was issued before 4 April 2024 and you have held Skilled Worker status continuously since, and only for applications made before 4 April 2030. Confirm which of these applies to your specific case before relying on any single figure.

A figure without the year it belongs to and the condition attached to it is how someone rules themselves out of a permit they qualify for. Both are above.

Qualification

What it wants from your degree

A confirmed job offer, on the eligible occupations list, from a Home Office-licensed sponsor, at or above the required skill level for that occupation code.

The procedure

4 steps,
in the order they happen.

Prepare your documents

  1. Confirm your prospective employer already holds a Home Office sponsor licence covering your occupation, and secure a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) reference number, job title, occupation code and annual salary from them.An employer without a sponsor licence cannot issue a CoS, and without a CoS there is no application to make on this route at all.
  2. Work out which salary rule applies to your job and your circumstances, and confirm your salary meets it — see the note on the salary threshold above.

Get your qualification assessed

  1. Prove your knowledge of English to at least level B2 of the Common European Framework (CEFR): reading, writing, speaking and understanding.Accepted evidence includes a UK school qualification, a degree taught in English (UK-awarded, or non-UK and verified through Ecctis), or a Secure English Language Test (SELT) with an approved provider. Nationals of certain English-speaking countries, and holders of specific regulated health-profession registrations, are exempt from providing proof.

Register and start working

  1. Apply online, either from outside or inside the UK, and prove your identity through the ID Check app or at a visa application centre.Applying from outside the UK, you'll usually get a decision within 3 weeks of proving your identity and providing your documents; this can take longer if your documents need verifying or you're asked to attend an interview.

Cost and time

What it costs,
and how long the authority says it takes.

Fees

Application fee, up to 3 years, from outside the UK
£819
Application fee, more than 3 years, from outside the UK
£1,618
Application fee, up to 3 years, from inside the UK
£943
Application fee, more than 3 years, from inside the UK
£1,865
Application fee, up to 3 years, job on the Immigration Salary List
£628
Application fee, more than 3 years, job on the Immigration Salary List
£1,235
Immigration health surcharge
£1,035 per year
Personal savings you must show, unless your CoS confirms your employer can support you
At least £1,270

Timeframes

Decision, applying from outside the UK
Usually within 3 weeks of proving identity and providing documents
Legacy salary rate for pre-4-April-2024 sponsorship
Available for applications made before 4 April 2030

Published processing times, not a prediction about your case.

Both halves together

Guides that use this permit.

Each one takes a profession into United Kingdom and runs the recognition branch and the authorisation branch side by side, including what your country of qualification adds.

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

11 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest is 2026-08-09, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Is this the right permit for you?

That depends on where you qualified.

The planner compares every route United Kingdom opens to your country of qualification, and adds the recognition branch when your profession has one.

Check my path →All United Kingdom permits