Citizeo
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.

Type
Skilled-worker residence
Job or skills fit
A qualifying UK job offer from a licensed sponsor
Core requirements
Certificate of Sponsorship, eligible occupation code, salary and going-rate fit, English, and standard checks
What to know
Credentials, skills, or job details drive eligibility
Salary requirement
£41,700 (or going rate)
Job offer required?
Yes (licensed sponsor)

Summary

Skilled Worker is the main sponsored employment route. Since 22 July 2025, new sponsorship is generally limited to RQF level 6 occupations, with narrower access for medium-skilled jobs on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List and transitional workers. Initial applicants now normally need B2 English.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

The worker needs an eligible genuine job, approved sponsor and certificate of sponsorship. The standard salary is the higher of £41,700 and the full occupation going rate. Defined tradeable options can reduce both tests—for example £37,500 and 90% for a relevant PhD, £33,400 and 80% for a relevant STEM PhD, or £33,400 and 70% for a qualifying new entrant or postdoctoral role. An Immigration Salary List job uses £33,400 but still the full going rate; the Temporary Shortage List changes occupation eligibility, not automatically the salary test. Health and education national-pay-scale jobs use separate tables. Transitional certificates and continuous pre-22 July 2025 permission can preserve different occupation and salary treatment.

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.

Current pathway rules still apply.

Last checked UK Home Office — explanatory memorandum to HC 1691UK Home Office — Statement of Changes HC 1691
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.

Current pathway rules still apply.

Last checked UK Home Office — Earned settlement consultation and current statusUK Home Office — A Fairer Pathway to Settlement consultation paper
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. The proposed ten-year earned-settlement baseline was not current law on 15 August 2026.

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.
Compare your options

Similar skilled worker pathways in other destinations.

Sources