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International recruitment

Skilled Worker sponsorship

The job offer is only the starting point. The sponsor, occupation code, duties, salary, working pattern and worker must all satisfy the route—and continue to align after permission is granted.

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Scope of advice

  • Role and occupation-code analysis
  • Salary and going-rate calculations
  • Certificates of Sponsorship
  • Defined and undefined CoS strategy
  • New hires and in-country switching
  • Senior and strategic appointments
  • Changes to role, salary or work location
  • Extensions, dependants and settlement planning

01 / The approach

Classify the real job.

An occupation code should follow the substantive duties and level of the role, not a preferred job title. The code affects eligibility, the applicable going rate and the evidence the sponsor may need to retain.

02 / The approach

Calculate salary against the correct option.

Skilled Worker salary analysis can depend on the general threshold, occupation going rate, weekly hours and any permitted points option. The applicable rules should be fixed against the intended Certificate of Sponsorship date.

03 / The approach

Keep the sponsored role true after arrival.

Promotion, changes in duties, salary, location, working arrangements or employer structure can require reporting or a fresh application. Recruitment and HR teams need a route for escalating changes before they are implemented.

Questions before proceeding.

Does every professional job qualify for Skilled Worker sponsorship?

No. The role must fall within an eligible occupation and satisfy the applicable skill and salary rules. Eligibility is determined from the actual duties and current occupation tables.

Can a worker switch employers?

Potentially, but permission is linked to the sponsoring employer and role. A change of employer normally requires a new Certificate of Sponsorship and a new application before the new sponsored employment begins.

Can salary be reduced after the visa is granted?

A reduction can affect continued eligibility and may engage reporting or application requirements. The proposed change should be reviewed before it is made.

Does Skilled Worker lead to settlement?

It is a route to settlement, subject to the qualifying residence, sponsorship, salary, absence, knowledge-of-language-and-life and other requirements in force when the settlement application is made.

Primary material

Rules and official guidance.

Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled WorkerSponsor a Skilled WorkerAppendix Skilled Occupations

Continue your reading.

Can a Skilled Worker work from home full time?Can a Skilled Worker take a second job?Skilled Worker salary and occupation code checkerThe sponsor control test for third party projectsNotice, sponsor reporting and the 60 day positionMaternity and sick leave for Skilled WorkersSponsor Licence Maintenance

Continue within this subject

Follow the sponsor position from licence to continuing control.

Applications, sponsored roles, reporting, payroll and inspection readiness form one regulatory system. Continue with the part of that system that determines the present risk.

Representative experience

The work in context.

A Skilled Worker application involving a complex immigration historyChoosing the Skilled Worker route and building the sponsor strategy around it

Family and status review

Map the family’s onward position, not an isolated application.

Quastels can review present status, family relationships, travel, work, children and the settlement or citizenship position the next step should preserve.

Map the family’s onward position ↗︎