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UK Skilled Worker visa issues for migrants and employers: sponsor licences and SMS access, curtailment, switches to Global Talent, and the longer route to ILR.
8 articles tagged Skilled Worker
How the proposed 10-year ILR period relates to the HSMP precedents, what must be proven in court, and how much time is available for judicial review. A breakdown without promises.
Can you get a UK sponsor licence if right to work checks were never carried out, and how to prove your system is reliable going forward.
What is known about the new UK Home Office policy: a 10-year path to settlement for skilled workers, factors that can speed it up, and transitional provisions.
The Home Office may deactivate Level 1 users who haven't logged into SMS in 12 months. Learn about the 19,000 affected sponsors, why it matters, and how to avoid being locked out.
How to switch from Skilled Worker to Global Talent visa while already in the UK: three reasons, timelines to ILR, criteria for IT specialists, and the Promising subcategory.
How to apply for a sponsor license under new requirements: company turnover, £41,700 salary, business plan. What employers need to know.
The Skilled Worker visa is the main UK work route for non-UK nationals, introduced in December 2020 to replace Tier 2 (General) under the points-based immigration system. An applicant needs a job offer from an employer holding a sponsor licence issued by the Home Office, a Certificate of Sponsorship, a role at an eligible skill level paid at least the relevant salary threshold, and English at the required level.
Sponsors carry ongoing compliance duties, including right to work checks, record keeping and reporting changes through the Sponsor Management System. If employment ends or a sponsor licence is revoked, the Home Office can curtail the worker's leave, after which the holder must find a new sponsor, switch to another route or leave the UK. Time on the route can count towards indefinite leave to remain, although the government has proposed lengthening the qualifying period.
The UK route is often confused with Canada's Federal Skilled Worker Program, which is an economic permanent residence stream managed by IRCC through Express Entry rather than an employer-sponsored work visa.