Skilled Workers
Overview of the Skilled Worker route
On 1 January 2021, the UK introduced a new Points-Based Immigration System which allows employers to recruit people to work in the UK in a specific job in an eligible skilled occupation and applies to both:
(a) EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who arrived in the UK after 11pm on 31 December 2020; and
(b) non-EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who applied for entry clearance or permission to stay on or after 1 December 2020.
Irish citizens do not need permission to live and work in the UK and are not eligible to apply under the Skilled Worker route.
A wider range of roles are now eligible for sponsorship as the minimum skill threshold has been lowered from RQF Level 6 (e.g. Degree level) to RQF Level 3 (e.g. A-levels/Scottish Highers level)
The general salary threshold has been lowered from £30,000 a year to a minimum general salary of £25,600 a year (or the ‘going rate’ for the role, whichever is higher) .
Sponsored workers who are paid less than £25,600 may still be eligible for sponsorship through a combination of ‘tradeable points’.
There is no requirement for sponsors to undertake a Resident Labour Market Test, however, vacancies must be ‘genuine’ and meet the skill and salary thresholds.
Genuine vacancy
The Home Office defines a genuine vacancy as one which:a) requires the jobholder to perform the specific duties and responsibilities for the job and meets all of the requirements of the relevant routeb) does not include dissimilar and/or predominantly lower-skilled dutiesc) is appropriate to the business in light of its business model, business plan and scale
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for a Skilled Worker Visa, the applicant must score a minimum of 70 points in total. This includes 50 points for mandatory or ‘non-tradeable’ criteria, and 20 points for ‘tradeable’ criteria.An applicant must meet the following mandatory criteria to score 50 points:
In addition to scoring 50 points for the above criteria, the applicant must score a further 20 ‘tradeable’ points based on:
(a) their salary; and
(b) other criteria if necessary and applicable (i.e. relevant academic qualifications held by them, being sponsored to work in a shortage occupation or an eligible health or education occupation, or because they are a ‘new entrant' to the UK’s labour market)
Financial requirement
If the applicant is applying for entry clearance from outside the UK or has been in the UK for less than one year at the date of application, they must show they have enough funds to support themselves and any family members in the UK.
Criminal records certificate requirement
Skilled workers in in education, health or social care sectors and dependent partner (over 18 years old) of the main applicant in any of the above routes, either together with the main applicant or separately must provide a criminal record certificate for any country (excluding the UK) where you have lived for 12 months or more (whether continuous or in total), in the 10 years before your application, while aged 18 or over.
Dependants
Skilled workers can bring their family members (partners and children below 18 years) to the UK and can apply to settle in the UK after 5 years’ continuous lawful residence.