The Skilled Worker visa is how most Europeans now take a job in Britain. It replaced the old Tier 2 work visa, and it works on one rule: you do not apply for a job in the UK as a free agent; an employer approved by the Home Office sponsors you.
That single requirement shapes everything: how you search, when you can move and what you can do once there. Here is how a Skilled Worker visa UK application unfolds, from the first interview to settling.
What is the Skilled Worker visa in the UK?
It lets you work in the UK in an eligible job for a licensed employer. GOV.UK sets the conditions: a job offer from an approved employer, a certificate of sponsorship, a job at the required skill level, a minimum salary that depends on the occupation and the date of your certificate, and the ability to speak, read, write and understand English.
The visa can last up to five years before an extension. After five years, you may be able to apply to settle permanently. Be careful with that sentence: the government published an immigration white paper in May 2025 and ran a consultation on "earned settlement" that closed on 12 February 2026. Results were not public when we checked, so treat any promise of "five years and you are done" as provisional.
How do you find a sponsoring employer?
Start with the employer rather than the visa. A UK company must hold a sponsor licence, and the Home Office publishes a register of licensed sponsors, so you can check whether a company on your shortlist can hire you. Job adverts often say "visa sponsorship available", but a recruiter may not know whether the role fits the salary and skill rules.
When you get to an interview, ask early and politely: does the company hold a licence, has it sponsored workers before, who pays the visa fee and the health surcharge, and will it give you a written job offer with the occupation code and salary? A good HR team answers in a sentence. A vague answer is a warning.
The government's own Find a job service covers England, Scotland and Wales, and Northern Ireland has its own site. The EURES network no longer covers the UK, so European job boards will not help much.
What happens after you get a job offer?
The employer assigns you a certificate of sponsorship, an electronic record with a reference number. You use it in your online application. Three practical points:
- The salary on the certificate must match the rule. Different occupations have different minimums and the rules change, so check the current table before you accept an offer that sits near the line.
- English counts. You usually prove your level with a test or a qualification, and some nationalities are exempt. GOV.UK gives the list.
- You can apply up to three months before your start date. Do not apply the week before you hope to fly.
You then apply online, pay the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, and prove your identity. GOV.UK says that decisions usually arrive within three weeks if you are outside the UK and eight weeks if you are inside it.
How much does the Skilled Worker visa UK route cost?
The application fee depends on the length of the visa and the occupation, and the table changes. What does not change quickly is the surcharge: £1,035 per adult per year, paid up front for the whole visa. A five-year visa therefore means five years of surcharge at the start. Dependants pay too, at £1,035 per adult per year and £776 per year for children under 18.
Some employers pay the fee and the surcharge, some pay a share and some pay none. Put it in writing before you sign. The surcharge is not refunded if you leave early. If you hold a Health and Care Worker visa, you are exempt from it.
Comparing job offers or unsure what your certificate should say? Moovy can turn the GOV.UK conditions into a checklist for your offer, draft the questions for your future employer and explain the rest of your first weeks in the UK. Moovy cannot apply for you or promise a decision, and complicated cases should go to a regulated adviser.
What can you do on a Skilled Worker visa?
You can work for your sponsor in the job on your certificate, study and do some volunteering. You can also take a second job within limits. GOV.UK's rule on additional work is specific: up to 20 hours a week in an eligible occupation, or in the same sector and at the same level as your main job. Management, invoicing and bookkeeping for your own side business count in those hours.
You cannot freely set up a business as a main activity, and you cannot rely on public funds. If you plan to start a company, look at the Innovator Founder route and not at overtime on your current visa.
If you change employer, you need a new certificate and often a new application. The same applies to a major change in job duties, so ask your sponsor before agreeing to a "slightly different role".
Can you settle after a Skilled Worker visa UK holders get?
The long-term goal for many is indefinite leave to remain, the status that lets you stay without time limit and that, in time, opens the door to citizenship. GOV.UK says that after five years on the visa you may be able to apply. Expect conditions about your time in the country, your record and your English, and expect them to evolve while the earned settlement proposals are decided.
What you can do now is keep clean records: copies of your certificates, payslips, contracts, and a log of your absences from the UK. A long stay abroad can affect a settlement application, and nothing is harder than rebuilding a travel history from memory five years later. If your plans include citizenship, ask an adviser which periods of residence count and what the current wait is.
Settled people from the EU who arrived before 2021 followed a different path, the EU Settlement Scheme, which is free and not available to new arrivals in the same way; see the EU Settlement Scheme guide.
What if your job ends or you want to change employer?
Your visa is tied to your sponsor. If you lose your job, the sponsor must tell the Home Office, and your permission to stay may be shortened. You normally have a limited period to find a new sponsor, change to another route or leave. Do not wait: speak to a regulated adviser the week you receive notice, and check the GOV.UK pages on changing employer and on switching category.
If you receive a job offer from another licensed sponsor, you generally need a new certificate of sponsorship and a new application. There is no way to "just start" for the new company on your old visa. Your savings matter here: with no safety net of public funds, a few weeks without income can hurt, and unemployment benefit is not simply available on a visa with that restriction.
Finally, keep your passport valid. Your eVisa is linked to the document you used, and a new passport means updating your UKVI account, which is a small task you want to do before a flight, not at the airport.
What do you do when you arrive?
Link your passport to your UKVI account to see your eVisa, then generate a share code when an employer or landlord asks for one. Apply for your National Insurance number and register with a GP; the steps are in healthcare in the UK for expats. Your first pay slip will show income tax, National Insurance and probably a pension contribution.
If you want to bring a partner or children, check each dependant's route at the outset. For other routes, compare the options in UK visas for EU citizens after Brexit.
Which mistakes cost people their Skilled Worker visa?
- Taking a job that does not fit the code. The certificate and the real duties must match.
- Counting on a second business. Twenty hours includes admin.
- Losing track of expiry dates. Your sponsor must report certain changes, and you must extend before the end date.
- Assuming settlement is automatic. It is an application, with conditions that may change.
- Using unofficial sites. Only apply on GOV.UK.
If you need personal advice on salary thresholds, an occupation code or a change of employer, use a regulated immigration adviser and not a chat group.