U.K. Work Visa Requirements: Understand the Application Process

You’ve narrowed down hundreds of applicants to select the perfect fit for an open management role, and they’ve accepted your offer. They’re also an expat living in the U.K., so securing a work visa is your next to-do.

Unless a new hire is a British or Irish citizen, or already holds settled or pre-settled status, they need a visa in order to work in the U.K.—and most visa types require a sponsoring employer. Every situation presents two questions: Does the role qualify for the visa route you’re using? And can your business act as the sponsor?

If the new hire’s visa gets approved, your responsibilities don’t end there. Those with work visas have ongoing duties, and compliance missteps can put your sponsor license at risk. The process is easier to navigate if you familiarize yourself with U.K. work visa requirements up front.

Types of U.K. work visas and permits

The type of U.K. work permit visa you need depends on whom you’re hiring, their future role, and how long they plan to work in the U.K. Some visas require an employer sponsor. If you’re hiring someone who already has permission to work in the U.K., you may not need to get involved with sponsorship.

Find a more breakdown of common visa types below.

Skilled Worker visa

If you want to bring a skilled employee to the U.K. for the long term, you’ve likely heard of the Skilled Worker visa, which replaced the Tier 2 (General) visa. The job must be on the list of eligible occupations, meet designated salary requirements, and be offered by a licensed sponsor. It can last for up to five years before the visa holder needs to extend it.

Temporary Worker visa

Not every overseas hire is coming to the U.K. for years. Temporary Worker visas, formerly known as Tier 5, cover several short-term work routes, including Seasonal Worker, Creative Worker, and Charity Worker visas. Each has its own rules and time limits, and most require you to hold the sponsor license in the U.K. specific to that type of visa.

Global Talent visa

This route is aimed at people with established or emerging talent in academia or research, arts and culture, or digital technology. They generally need an endorsement from an approved body or a qualifying award. If you hire someone with a Global Talent visa, you don’t need to sponsor them.

Scale-up Worker visa

The Scale-up visa is designed for fast-growing businesses. The visa applicant needs a qualifying job offer that meets specific salary requirements, and you sponsor them for the first six months. Once that period ends, they can change jobs or become self-employed without needing a new sponsor.

Graduate visa

The Graduate visa is available to people who have completed an eligible degree in the U.K. and are already there on a Student visa. They don’t need employer sponsorship and can work without being tied to one employer. The visa lasts two years for most graduates and three years for PhD graduates. For applications made on or after January 1, 2027, the standard duration will drop to 18 months.

High Potential Individual visa

The High Potential Individual (HPI) visa is an unsponsored route for recent graduates of eligible universities outside the U.K. They must have received a degree within the past five years by a university on the Home Office’s global universities list. They don’t need a job offer or employer sponsorship. The visa lasts two years for most applicants and three years for those with a PhD or other doctoral qualification.

With a Graduate or HPI visa, the visa can’t be extended. If the hire becomes an important part of your team and you want them to stay, you usually need to sponsor them on another eligible route, such as the Skilled Worker visa.

Senior or Specialist Worker visa

When you need to bring an existing employee from your overseas team into your U.K. operation, the Global Business Mobility route can make it possible. It replaced the Intra-company Transfer visa and is designed for temporary moves, so it’s better suited to an internal transfer than a permanent U.K. hire. Employers also need a sponsor license.

What are the requirements for a U.K. work visa?

Before you get into the application process, double check that your new hire needs a work visa at all. British and Irish citizens can work in the U.K. without immigration permission. The same applies to people with indefinite leave to remain and those with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Other employees need a visa to work.

Whichever group your hire falls into, you still need to complete a right to work check before they start.

For those who do require a visa, the type they apply for determines their U.K. work permit visa requirements and your responsibilities as their employer.

For a long-term skilled hire, the U.K. Skilled Worker visa is the typical path. The applicant generally needs a job offer from an approved sponsor, a U.K. Certificate of Sponsorship, an eligible occupation, and a salary that meets requirements. For most new applicants, that means at least £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. Some roles and applicants can still qualify with lower salaries, such as those with a postdoctoral position in higher education.

The applicant also needs to meet an English language requirement. For a new Skilled Worker application, this generally means proving English proficiency of at least B2 level.

The paperwork isn’t the same for every type of visa, and neither are the costs. Both are subject to change, so it’s worth checking gov.uk before submitting anything. Here’s a breakdown of the requirements for four common visa types.

Skilled Worker visa

The employee needs the Certificate of Sponsorship reference number you give them, proof of English proficiency, a valid passport, and details about the role, salary, and occupation code. Depending on their situation, they may also need proof of savings, a tuberculosis test result, or a criminal record certificate. The visa fee is currently £819 to £1,865, plus an Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), typically £1,035.

Scale-up Worker visa

You need to provide the Certificate of Sponsorship. The applicant needs to meet the English-language requirement and provide a valid passport, along with any additional documents their circumstances call for. The application fee is currently £937 plus the IHS.

Global Talent visa

For a Global Talent visa, the applicant needs endorsement from an approved body, unless they’ve won an eligible prestigious prize. They also need a valid passport and supporting documents relevant to their application. The application fee is £766.

Graduate visa

To qualify for the Graduate visa, an applicant’s university must confirm to the Home office that the applicant completed an eligible U.K. course while on a Student visa. The application fee is £937, plus the IHS.

The visa fee and IHS fall on the applicant, though some employers choose to cover them to make an offer more attractive. If you’re sponsoring the hire, you also have costs of your own, such as the certificate of sponsorship fee and, depending on the route, the immigration skills charge.

Application process for U.K. work visas

If you’re figuring out how to get a work visa in the U.K. for a new hire, start by checking whether their visa type requires sponsorship. You also need to make sure the role qualifies, and give the hire the information they need for their visa application.

Get a sponsor license

You can’t sponsor an applicant without a license. Apply for the sponsor license online and decide who in your business should manage the sponsorship. The fee is currently £611 for small businesses and charities or £1,682 for medium and large organizations. Applications usually take less than eight weeks. If you already have a license, you can skip this step.

Make sure the job qualifies

Before you make the offer, check the role’s four-digit occupation code against the eligible occupations list and going rates. This can determine whether the job qualifies for sponsorship and the minimum salary you would need to pay.

Assign the Certificate of Sponsorship

Next you can issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the applicant. It’s an electronic record with details about the job and the person you’re sponsoring. For a Skilled Worker applying from outside the U.K., you should first request a “defined” CoS, which U.K. Visas and Immigration (UKVI) usually approves within one working day. Each CoS costs £525 for most Worker routes. You also pay the immigration skills charge at this point if applicable.

With their CoS reference number in hand, your new hire can submit their application online. They must apply within three months of the CoS being issued and no more than three months before their job start date. They also need to prove their identity, either through the U.K. Immigration: ID Check app or by having their fingerprints and photo taken at a visa application center.

Wait for the decision

Once the application and identity checks are complete, UKVI reviews everything and sends the decision by email. Successful applicants receive an eVisa, which records their immigration status digitally.

Complete the right-to-work check

Input your hire’s share code into the Home Office’s online checking service to confirm that your new hire has permission to work. Keep a record of the check to protect your business from penalties for illegal working.

How long does a U.K. work visa take?

For most Skilled Worker applications, a U.K. visa sponsorship decision takes around three weeks, or around eight weeks if they’re switching from a different type of visa. The processing time starts after they’ve submitted the application, proven their identity, and provided the required documents. Some applicants can pay for a faster decision.

If you’re sponsoring someone for the first time, you need to allow enough time for the sponsor license process up front, which can take eight weeks. Your new hire may also need time to gather documents or attend a visa application appointment. If this is your first time sponsoring someone, allow a few months between making the hiring decision and their first day.

Hire and relocate employees compliantly in the U.K. with Pebl

A slow sponsor license application can push a start date back by weeks. A missed reporting duty can put your license—and every hire that depends on it—at risk. If you don’t have immigration expertise in-house, there’s a lot to keep track of on top of other onboarding duties.

Pebl’s Global Immigration services help you manage the process from application through relocation. Specialists handle visa and permit paperwork, help employees and their families navigate the move, and keep you informed as immigration requirements change.

If you don’t have a U.K. entity, Pebl can also hire your employee through Employer of Record services. As the legal employer, Pebl handles onboarding, payroll, benefits, and immigration support for your U.K. team—a useful option for a U.S. company hiring a U.K. employee.

Ready to grow your U.K. team? Contact Pebl to talk through your hiring plans.