SKILLED WORKER VISA -UK-Jan 21
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SKILLED WORKER VISA -UK-Jan 21
The Skilled Worker Visa is open to individuals of all nationalities (except British and Irish) who have an offer of an eligible skilled job in the UK from a Home Office-approved sponsor. The route can lead to settlement and applicants can be joined by dependent partners and children.
In order to secure a Skilled Worker Visa you will need to be sponsored to do a specific job, which meets certain skill and salary requirements, by an employer that has been licensed by the Home Office.
There is no cap on the number of people who can enter the UK on the Skilled Worker route.
BENEFITS OF THE VISA:
- Visa holders can bring dependents on the visa
- Spouse is allowed to work on the visa
- No cap on the number of people who can move to the UK on the visa
- Minimum salary requirement has been reduced to £25600 from threshold of £30000
- Fast Track Visas will be provided for healthcare professionals like doctors and nurses
Requirements for a Skilled Worker Visa
In order to qualify for a Skilled Worker Visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:
- You are aged 18 or over;
- You have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the job you are planning to do;
- Your job offer is a genuine vacancy;
- Your sponsor has paid any required Immigration Skills Charge;
- Your job is at an appropriate skill level;
- You are competent in the English language to at least CEFR Level B1 (equivalent to IELTS 4.0);
- You will be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both a general salary threshold and the ‘going rate’ for the occupation;
- You have enough money to support yourself without relying on public funds;
- You have provided a criminal record certificate, if required; and
- You have provided a valid TB certificate, if required.
The exact requirements you will need to satisfy will vary depending on your circumstances. You may want to speak to an immigration lawyer for expert advice.
To discuss your Skilled Worker Visa application with one of our immigration barristers, contact our Skilled Worker Route lawyers on 03111222096
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Requirement
In order to obtain a Skilled Worker Visa you must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the job you are planning to do. Your Certificate of Sponsorship will need to have been issued by an employer that is authorised by the Home Office to sponsor the job in question under the Skilled Worker route.
Your sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless you were last granted permission as a Skilled Worker and are applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in your last permission.
Your Certificate of Sponsorship must have been issued not more than 3 months before the date of your Skilled Worker application.
Your Certificate of Sponsorship must include certain mandatory information, including:
- details of your name, job and salary;
- a start date which is no more than 3 months after the date your Skilled Worker visa application;
- confirmation that the Certificate of Sponsorship has not been used in a previous application which was either granted or refused and has not been withdrawn by the sponsor or cancelled by the Home Office;
Genuine Vacancy Requirement
In order to be granted a Skilled Worker Visa, you will need to satisfy the Home Office that you are being sponsored to undertake a genuine vacancy and are capable of undertaking the role for which your Certificate of Sponsorship has been assigned.
If there are reasonable grounds to believe that the job you are being sponsored to do does not exist, is a sham or has been created mainly so that you can apply for a Skilled Worker Visa then your application will be refused.
The Home Office will also want to be satisfied that you have not entered into an arrangement whereby you will fill a temporary or permanent position, or undertake contract work which involves undertaking an ongoing routine role or providing an ongoing routine service to a third party who is not your sponsor.
Immigration Skills Charge Requirement
Your sponsor must also have paid in full any required Immigration Skills Charge.
The Immigration Skills Charge is a charge for each foreign worker that a sponsoring employer seeks to employ. The Immigration Skills Charge must be paid each time a sponsoring employer assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship to a migrant.
Appropriate Skill Level Requirement
In order to qualify for a Skilled Worker Visa, the job you are being sponsored for must be an eligible job at or above a minimum skill level.
Under the Skilled Worker Visa route, the role you are looking to fill must be skilled to at least RQF level 3, which is roughly equivalent to A-levels.
You do not need to hold a formal qualification in order to satisfy the skills level requirement. It is the skill level of the job that you will be doing that will determine whether the threshold is met.
The Home Office sets out eligible jobs, along with their skills levels, in an Appendix to the Immigration Rules. Each eligible job has an occupation code. You must be sponsored for a job in an eligible occupation code listed in the Appendix.
Your sponsor must choose an appropriate occupation code. If the Home Office has reasonable grounds to believe that your sponsor has not chosen the most appropriate occupation code then your application for a Skilled Worker Visa will be refused.
In assessing whether your sponsor has chosen the most appropriate occupation code, the Home Office will consider factors such as whether they have shown a genuine need for the job as described, whether you have the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job as described and the sponsor’s history of compliance with the immigration system.
English Language Requirement
In order to qualify for a Skilled Worker Visa you will need demonstrate English language ability on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in all 4 components (reading, writing, speaking and listening) to at least level B1 (intermediate).
Prospective employees applying for entry clearance or leave to remain as a Skilled Worker will satisfy the English language requirement if they:
- Are a national of a majority English-speaking country;
- Have passed a Secure English Language Test;
- Have been awarded a degree taught in English;
- Obtained a GCSE/A Level or Scottish Highers in English while at school in the UK; or
- Have already shown they met the requirement, of level B1, in a previous successful application for entry clearance or permission to stay.
Salary Threshold Requirement
Employers seeking to recruit under the Skilled Worker route must (subject to being able to trade points as set out below) pay their skilled workers a salary which equals or exceeds both a general salary threshold and the ‘going rate’ for the occupation (as set out in the relevant occupation code mentioned above), whichever is higher.
The general salary threshold under the Skilled Worker route is £25,600 a year. Therefore, in most cases an applicant for a Skilled Worker Visa must be paid a salary which equals or exceeds £25,600 a year and 100% of the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. The assessment of salary is based on guaranteed basic gross pay.
Some sponsored skilled workers applying under the Skilled Worker route may be paid less than the above amount, where they are awarded additional so-called ‘tradable points’ for other attributes:
- An applicant with a PhD qualification which is relevant to the job may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £23,040 per year and 90% of the going rate for the occupation;
- An applicant with a PhD qualification in a STEM subject which is relevant to the job may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 80% of the going rate for the occupation;
- An applicant with a job offer for a job in a shortage occupation may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 80% of the going rate for the occupation;
- An applicant who is a new entrant to the labour market may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 70% of the going rate for the occupation;
- An application for a job in a listed health or education occupation may be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 80% of the going rate for the occupation.
What is a ‘job in a shortage occupation’?
The Home Office maintains a list of skilled roles where employers find it difficult to secure adequate numbers of workers with the required skills to fill their vacancies. As set out above, if you have a job offer for a job on the shortage occupation list, the salary threshold requirement will be reduced.
Who is a ‘new entrant to the labour market’?
New entrants to the labour market include those under the age of 26 at the date of application (or switching from a Student or Graduate Visa) and applying for a maximum of three years leave, those sponsored in postdoctoral research positions and those working towards professional qualifications, registration or chartered status. As set out above, if you qualify as a new entrant to the labour market then the salary threshold requirement will be reduced.
Financial Requirement
Subject to the exemptions below, you will need to have cash funds of at least £1,270 available.
You will need to have held the money for at least 28 consecutive days ending not more than 31 days before the date of your Skilled Worker Visa application.
You will be exempt from the financial requirement if you have a fully ‘A-rated’ sponsor who is willing to meet your maintenance costs up to the end of the first month of your employment, to an amount of at least £1,270, if necessary. Your sponsor will need to confirm this on your Certificate of Sponsorship.
If you are applying for permission to stay and have been in the UK with permission for 12 months or more at the date of application, you will meet the financial requirement and will not need to show funds.
Applications for Settlement as a Skilled Worker
- In order to qualify for Settlement as a Skilled Worker, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:
- You have spent a continuous period of 5 years in the UK;
- The 5-year continuous period consisted of time with permission on any of, or any combination of, the following routes: Skilled Worker, Global talent, Innovator, Tier 2 Minister of Religion, Tier 2 Sportsperson, Representative of an Overseas Business or as a Tier 1 Migrant (other than as a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Migrant);
- You have not been outside for more than 180 days during each year of the 5-year continuous period;
- You have passed the Life in the UK test (unless aged 65 or over);
- Your sponsor is still a Home Office approved sponsor;
- Your sponsor still requires you to work for them for the foreseeable future;
- You are being, and will be paid for the foreseeable future, at least the general salary threshold or the going rate requirement, whichever is higher.
Fresh applications, Administrative reviews and Judicial reviews for Skilled Workers
If your application for entry clearance, leave to remain or settlement as a Skilled Worker has been refused, our immigration team can advise on the merits of making a fresh application or challenging the decision.
If the decision-maker failed to apply the Immigration Rules or Home Office policy correctly, we can bring Administrative Review proceedings to challenge the decision.
If the decision to refuse your application was unlawful, unreasonable or procedurally improper, our immigration barristers can apply for Judicial Review and provide representation at Judicial Review hearings.
WE CAN ALSO ASSIST WITH
- Drafting of business plans for Sole Representative of Overseas Business visa applications
- Applications for extension of stay as a Sole Representative of an Overseas Business
- Applications for settlement as a Sole Representative of Overseas Business
- Fresh applications and Judicial reviews for Sole Representatives of Overseas Businesses
- Sponsor Licence applications
- Intra-company Transfer visa applications
- Business Visit visa applications
- Visit Visa Applications
- Schengen Application
- Settlement applications
- EU applications
- Refusals
Our Fee Packages
Service based package
Details of Services | Processing fee non refundable |
1. Application filling only 2. Form 3. Index 4. Online appointment 5. Bundle 6. Review of Documents 1 time 7. 2 Meetings 8. 3 calls | £2200 – |
2. Drafting 3 Drafts upto 1 hour work | £600 |
Conditional packages
Packages | Details of Services | Admin fee nonrefundable / Advance £ | Success fee £ |
Package 1 | 1. Documents review and Assessment 1. Drafting cover letter 1. Drafting applicant statement 1. Application filling only 1. Form filing 1. Index making 1. Online appointment 1. Bundle making 1. 3 Meetings 1. 5 calls 1. In case of refusal – stage 1 challenge /1 Pre action 1. Drafting grounds of challenge 2. Filling Pre action notice | 800 | 6500 |
Package 2 | 1. Application filling only Form 2. Index 3. Online appointment 4. Bundle 5. Review of Documents 1 time 6. 3 Meetings 7. 5 calls 8. 2 Drafts included 9. In case of refusal – stage 2l 10. Drafting of Grounds of Pre action 11. Filling Pre action | 800 | 7500 |
Package 3
| 12. Application filling only Form 13. Index 14. Online appointment 15. Bundle 16. Review of Documents 1 time 17. 3 Meetings 18. 5 calls 19. 2 Drafts included 20. In case of refusal – stage 2l 21. Drafting of Grounds of Pre action 22. Filling Pre action 23. In case of refusal – stage 3- Filling JR on Papers in UK High court 24. Documents review and Assessment 25. Drafting 1 witness statement 26. Drafting Grounds for JR 27. Form filling for JR 28. Bundle preparation for Jr 29. Index making for bundle 30. Filling bundle JR 31. service to respondent 2. Filling certificate of service with court 3. Obtain Decision on papers only 4. No oral hearing added | 1000 | 10500 |
5 | Per dependent | GBP 350 |
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| Disbursement and court fee is clients responsibility normally includes the following 1. Visa Fee + health charges 2. Court fee 3. Postal Charges 4. Allied expenses Required Documents submission to file case is client responsibility |
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Employer Registration
Packages | Details of Services | Admin fee nonrefundable / Advance £ | No of hours work |
Package 1 | Non Complicated a. Documents review and assessment b. Form filling c. Application filling online d. 1 online meeting e. 1 phone call | 1200-2000 | 4 |
Package 2 | Completed f. Documents review and assessment g. Form filling h. Application filling online i. 2 online meeting j. 2 phone call k. Up to 2 letters correspondence with home office
| 2500-3500 | 8 |
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