UK Work Visa: Eligibility, Documents, Fees, and Application Process

Recently, British Prime Minister, Mr. Borris Johnson has announced the revival of the 2-year stay in the UK with a post-study for the international students. This is a welcome sign for students who want to make their livelihood in the United Kingdom. During this period one can look for jobs and can apply for a UK Work Visa based on the eligibility fulfillment.

The UK work visa is a document that allows an overseas person to choose their desired jobs in the UK and legally work there for 5 years and 14 days without any hurdles. It is also the pathway to get citizenship of the UK if one desires for the same.

Now, the next question is, How to Get a Work Permit in the UK? The article below discusses the details on how to apply for, fees, documentation, and other requirements for the same.

The easiest way to obtain a UK Work Visa is to study there first by getting a UK Student Visa. Post-studying, one can go for a UK work permit. After obtaining the work permit in the UK, one can chase their dreams of earning 40,000 to 50,000 GBP on average yearly based on their Job Roles. MBA in the UK degree holders can earn up to 100,00 GBP annually.

Also Read: Two-year Stay back Policy in UK

UK Work Visa: Immigration Situation after Brexit

The UK is the land of premier institutes and universities in the world like the likes of - Oxford University, Cambridge University, Imperial Colleges (London), and many more. However, as per reports, a majority of International students opted to shift from the UK post-study since 2012. The data beneath shows a very less percentage of students applying for UK work visas.

The majority of the international students coming from non-EU countries do not currently work in the UK after their studies. The data from 2014 to 2018 suggest that on average only less than 5% of students and their dependents who arrived here on the study (Tier 4) visas actually applied for the UK work visas.

This has actually led to the revival of the 2-year post-study stay in the UK for work post-Brexit. According to experts from a popular Indian Daily, the Graduate Immigration Route after the UK's exit from the EU will allow international students to stay in the country unsponsored for 2 years. Through this one can utilize the time in the UK to work or look for job opportunities and apply for the UK Work Visa subsequently.

Off late, there has been a slight increase in the number of UK Work Visas, especially among Non-EU students or immigrants. According to reports, the percentage of Non-EU immigration is 56% against 45% of EU immigration in 2019 and onwards.

UK Work Visa

The Home Office of the UK allows eligible students to get a UK Work Visa (Tier 2 General Visa) after completing their study if they are eligible to do so on all the applicable grounds. After acquiring the work visa, students can pursue jobs in Engineering, Medicine, Management, and various other sectors within the UK.

This includes completing their courses successfully by holding a degree that makes them worthy of securing a job. The students need to get a job with the licensed Tier4 sponsor within a timeframe of 3 months after making their application for the Tier 2 work visa.

International students are allowed to stay for a period of 2 years in the United Kingdom once they have received the work visa after completing their graduation. This new rule gives international students graduating in the UK to obtain a work permit for a period of two years through which they can live and work in the country legally.

This can be a pathway to become a permanent resident also by obtaining an “indefinite leave to remain (ILR) Visa ''. This allows the applicants to file an ILR application if they have completed 5 years of stay in the UK after their studies or for work in the UK. It can take around 6 months time to obtain the ILR visa if all the requirements are met by the applicant within the timeline.

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UK Work Visa: Types of Worker Visa

Applications for the new skilled worker visa are now open. The eligible applicants can apply for the UK Work Visa under the given categories.

The points-based immigration system has points to be calculated on a job offer, skill level, knowledge of English and salary earned, etc. Skilled worker visas will be awarded to those who gain enough points. A minimum of 70 points are required to become eligible.

There are three main categories of UK work permit namely:

• Tier 2 General - Skilled Worker
• Tier 2 Intra - Company Transfer
• Tie 2 - Health and Care Professionals
• Tier 2 - Sportsperson Visa
• Tier 2 - Minister of Religion Visa

UK Work Visa: Eligibility

To be eligible for the UK Work Visa, one must fulfill the following requirements.

• On the point table, you need to score a minimum of 70 points based on age, skills, qualification, salary earned, etc.
• The applicant must be a holder of a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent with 2 years of skilled work experience. The occupation must be on the list of eligible occupations.
• Possession of a valid job offer from a Home Office licensed sponsor is a must. This job offer should be at the required skill level – RQF 3 or above (A-Level and equivalent)
• In the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the applicant needs to have a minimum B1 level of English.
• A general salary threshold is 20,800 GBP for first-timers and 30,000 GBP for experienced applicants.
• The employer is responsible for issuing the Certificate of sponsorship to the work permit aspirant without the application process cannot take place.

Also, check - UK English Language Criteria for more information.

How to apply for a UK Work Visa?

For submitting the application for UK Work Visa, mainly three steps are there:

1. After you receive an offer of employment from a licensed employer who is authorized to sponsor employees from outside the country.
2. The sponsor or the employer will hire you only after verifying that you have the necessary skills to do the job and meet all the qualifications and requirements to be eligible for the work visa.
3. After satisfying all the conditions, one will be issued the certificate of sponsorship which is the main requirement for applying for the UK Work Visa.

Sponsored License

A Sponsorship license is to be obtained by the Employer. The Employer has to make an application directly to UKVI – UK Visas and Immigration and they will assess the eligibility of the applicant and complete the process.

The sponsor assessed and approved by the authorities can then submit an application for the Certificate of Sponsorship for an occupation that has to be on the selected occupation list which is in demand.

The overseas non-resident workers are identified by the employer for whom they would like to apply for the CoS. Only after receiving this CoS, you can apply for the skilled worker visa.

An application has to be made by the applicant with a unique CoS number and all the documents fulfilling the eligibility criteria and requirements for the Skilled worker visa.

You can get visa decisions on priority within 5 days by paying an extra amount of 500 GBP. There is another option of Super priority where the amount payable is 800 GBP.

The UK Work Permit applied is granted for either 3 years or more than 3 years. The maximum tenure is 5 years after which the applicant needs to apply for an extension.

Applying for Visa Outside UK

• The visa is to be applied through VFS offices in India.
• You will be required to prove your identity and provide supporting documents as part of the application.
• In this process, the applicants may have to provide their biometrics and their photographs may be taken at the VFS office.
• The VFS or concerned office may ask to use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app that allows scanning the identity document like passport. The applicants will also be able to create and/or sign into the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. The VFS office will guide the applicants about what else needs to be done.
• It is possible that one will need to make an appointment for this process.

UK Work Visa: Documents Required

To apply for the UK Skilled Worker visa following documents are needed:

• The reference number of the applicant’s Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
• Employer’s Name and Address.
• The sponsorship license number of the employer.
• Proof of knowledge of the English language through the English proficiency test scores.
• A valid passport or any other valid acceptable document that establishes the applicant’s nationality and identity.
• Job title.
• Annual salary.
• Occupation code of the job.

Other Documents

It is possible that you may require additional documents for UK Work Permit to pursue various jobs in the Uk post-MBA, Engineering or any other courses depending on your circumstances:

1. You may have to provide evidence of having enough personal savings to support yourself in the UK. This includes bank statements, deposits, etc. unless your certificate of sponsorship shows your employer can support you financially.
2. A proof of your relationship with your partner or children (dependents) if they’re also included in your application.
3. Tuberculosis test results depending on your origin country.
4. A background certificate or a criminal record certificate. This can be asked specially for certain job categories. These areas are -
   1. Education sector professionals like - teachers, advisers in educational areas, school inspectors, and assistants are included.
   2. Healthcare professionals including nurses, doctors, paramedics, pharmacists, and other similar professionals.
   3. Therapy professionals like - psychologists, counselors, speech therapists are similar professionals are included.
   4. Social services including social workers, welfare officers, and others.
5. UK Ph.D. certificate, or your unique ECCTIS reference number (formerly unique UK NARIC reference number). If you have your qualifications completed outside the UK, then you will need to apply through ECCTIS.
6. If the documents you are submitting are not in English, an official acceptable translation will be needed.
7. If you’ve lived in more than one country, you may have to furnish a certificate from each country you’ve lived in. It will depend on your age and how long you have stayed in each country.

If the applicants are below the age of 28, they will require a certificate from any country of stay for a total of 12 months or more since 18 years of age. But if they are aged 28 or above, they will need a certificate from any country of stay over the last 10 years.

UK Work Visa Fees

• Application Fees for stay up to 3 years – 610 GBP
• Application Fees for stay more than 3 years stay - 1,220 GBP
• Application Fees if your job is in Shortage Occupation List for stay up to 3 years) – 464 GBP
• Application Fees (f job in Shortage Occupation List and you wish to stay for more than three years 928 GBP
• UK NARIC Fees 49.50 GBP
• A health surcharge of 624 GBP is to be paid in addition to the application fee and this surcharge is refundable in case your visa application is not successful and is rejected.

Benefits of having a UK Skilled Worker Visa

There are multiple benefits of obtaining a UK skilled worker visa. Few are listed below:

• Earning in Pounds which is one of the strongest currencies in the world. For Indian Students, 1 GBP is equal to 103.95 INR.
• The visa holder can study in the top colleges and universities in the UK.
• You get to enjoy the best healthcare facilities in the world.
• The UK retirement benefits are considered one of the best in the world.
• Your family can travel and stay with you as it is permitted through this visa.
• You can live, work, and study anywhere in the UK.
• One can enjoy jobs with salaries of 50,000 GBP yearly on average. MBA Jobs in the UK can fetch 100,000 GBP or more.
• The processing of visas can be done only in three weeks.
• There is no specified number kept as a limit for migrants under this scheme.
• Also, students can avail various UK scholarships schemes tailor-made to cover their study expenses.

UK Work Visa: What to Follow after Application?

You can ask to cancel your UK Work Visa application. The refund of the UK work visa application fee will be allowed only if the processing of your visa application has not been initiated by the UKVI.

You will receive an email containing the result of your application. This will also tell you what steps you need to take next if your application is successful. The letter will contain a sticker (called a vignette) that will go in your passport.

The vignette you receive or the information of the online immigration status will show the following:

1. What you have been granted (for example, a Student Visa)
2. The dates your visa is valid (start date and end date)
3. The conditions of your visa
4. Your visa conditions
5. The conditions given in will explain the dos and don’ts permitted in the UK after you are granted the visa For example, these conditions can be like :
   1. ‘No access to public funds’ – that means you cannot ask for any benefits coming from the public funds of the country
   2. ‘No work’ - you cannot take any paid or unpaid work in the UK on this visa
   3. ‘Restricted work’ – implies that you are allowed to work only for your sponsor

The UK Work Visa applicants will need to register their personal details with the UK police. If the VFS office keeps the passport, they will post it to you with the vignette inside. If the passport is with you then you will be required to carry it to the VFS office to collect the vignette.

Any error in the vignette needs to be immediately reported to the Visa application center from where you had applied for the visa and must be corrected before you arrive in the UK.

If you realize an error in the vignette after your arrival in the country you need to immediately report that to the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). In all circumstances within 3 months of arriving, you may need to submit a new application.

The applicants who receive vignettes and plan to travel to the UK for a period of more than 6 months will be required to collect their biometric residence permit (BRP) after their arrival in the country.

One must collect the BRP within 10 days after arrival or before the expiry of the vignette sticker. All the details must be checked after collecting the BRP. Please note that if your name is too long to be printed on BRP it might have been shortened. The part that is appearing on BRP must not be misspelled and no other error must be there.

Any errors in the BRP need to be brought under the notice of the authorities within 10 days post-collection.

The applicants who received the information of immigration status online can use online mode to share the information with the employers or universities as the case may be.

If the UK Work Visa application is refused, then the letter received by you for the refusal will explain the reasons and your passport will be returned if kept by the visa application office.

The refusal letter also provides information on further processes like whether you can go for an administrative review or allowed to do an immigration decision appeal.

UK Work Visa: Things to Do after Arriving in the UK

As a skilled worker visa holder, you need to enter the UK within 4 weeks. The time is calculated by considering the start date of Skilled Worker CoS and the date of the issuance of visa; whichever later is used for calculation.

If a Skilled Worker visa holder delayed the arrival beyond 4 weeks, the sponsorship would have to be withdrawn and the visa will stand canceled.

The vignettes of the skilled worker visa holders along with their family members will be checked and a stamp of the entry date would be affixed by a Home Office Immigration Officer on arriving in the UK.

Work visa holders of six months or more need to collect their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) within 10 days after arriving in the UK, or before their vignette expires, whichever is sooner. The Home office letter that confirmed their visa also has the date and place mentioned as to when and where they can collect their BRP.

Before commencing their work or study, the UK Skilled Worker Visa holders require to present their vignette and BRP to their employer/college to show their evidence of the right to work in the UK.

The UK Worker Visa holders need to remember and note down the date they arrived in the UK as the home department requires this as their record-keeping requirements. Normally a date is mentioned on the arrival in the UK on the vignette.

Police registration: The visa holders need to register with the police within 7 days of their arrival in the UK. The Home Office letter that you received confirming your visa also states if you need to go for the police registration.

For this registration you need the following details to furnish:

• Name and gender.
• Date and country of birth.
• Marital status.
• Nationality.
• Passport details.
• Visa / Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) details.
• Last place of residence outside the UK.
• Date, place, and mode of arrival in the UK.
• UK address and contact details.
• Details and place of employment/study/research visit.

One must attend a visa holder briefing session hosted by the Staff Immigration Team. This will give all the details one needs to know to make their stay comfortable in the UK.

The process of obtaining work visas for the UK is laid down step by step here. If you fulfill all the eligibility criteria and follow the instructions, you will be able to realize the dreams of pursuing a job in the UK. The future for immigrants especially for Indians and Non-Eu ones seems bright after the new post-study stay rules. So, hurry up and plan your application!

UK Work Visa FAQs