UK Visas Programmes

UK Immigration Options

As of 1 January 2021, the UK introduced a new immigration regime following its departure from the EU, with a points-based system that subjects both EU and non-EU citizens to the same regulations. Except for Irish citizens, anyone coming to the UK for work must meet a specific set of requirements for which they will score points. Visas are then awarded to those who gain enough points.

Points are assigned based on specific skills, qualifications, salaries and shortage occupations, and applicants are required to score a total of 70 points. Basic requirements include proficiency in English (10 points), a confirmed job offer at the requisite skill level (20 points) from a Home Office-licensed sponsor (20 points).

To make up the remaining points to reach the 70 required, an additional 20 points can be obtained via a ‘tradeable’ process, largely dependent on the salary rate offered but also encompassing roles that are recognised as being a shortage occupation or those jobs requiring a relevant PhD-level qualification. There are also specific salary requirements for certain occupation sectors.

These are the different types of UK Visa options:

UK Skilled Worker Route

The Skilled Worker route encompasses the majority of UK jobs eligible for overseas recruitment, providing a simple and flexible process for accessing the global talent pool. Under the Skilled Worker route, anyone hired from outside the UK will need to demonstrate that:

they have a job offer from a Home Office licensed sponsor (you)
the job offer is at the required skill level – RQF 3 or above (A Level and equivalent)
they speak English to the required standard

In addition, the job must meet a minimum salary threshold or applicants can ‘trade’ characteristics, such as their qualifications. A total of 70 points is needed to be able to apply to work in the UK:

Characteristics	Mandatory/Tradeable	Points
Offer of job by approved sponsor	Mandatory	20
Job at appropriate skill level	Mandatory	20
Speaks English at required level	Mandatory	10
Salary of £20,480 to £23,039 or at least 80% of the going rate for the profession (whichever is higher)	Tradeable	0
Salary of £23,040 to £25,599 or at least 90% of the going rate for the profession (whichever is higher)	Tradeable	10
Salary of £25,600 or above or at least the going rate for the profession (whichever is higher)	Tradeable	20
Job in a shortage occupation as designated by the Migration Advisory Committee	Tradeable	20
Education qualification: PhD in a subject that is relevant to the job	Tradeable	10
Education qualification: PhD in a STEM subject that is relevant to the job	Tradeable	20

All jobs have a corresponding Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code. Each SOC code has a designated skill level. This determines whether the job meets the requirements of the Skilled Worker route.

An occupation on the Shortage Occupation List results in lower application fees and reduced salary requirements, for skilled workers filling jobs that are in shortage. This does not, however, exempt jobs from the wider mandatory requirements of the Skilled Worker Route, including the skills threshold and the English language requirement.

Skilled Worker Visa – Self-Sponsorship

If you are setting up a new business in the UK, or own an existing business in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for a Skilled Worker visa via self-sponsorship by the UK company. The self-sponsored Skilled Worker visa route can lead to settlement in the UK and applicants can be joined by dependent partners and children.

To sponsor yourself for a Skilled Worker visa, you will need to complete the following steps:

Establish a UK company.
Apply online for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence.
Assign a Certificate of Sponsorship.
Apply for a Skilled Worker visa.

As a professional corporate services provider, Sovereign can guide you through the UK company registration process, as well as the application process,for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence.

Self-sponsored Skilled Worker visa holders can qualify for settlement in the UK as a Skilled Worker, after spending a continuous period of five years in the UK.

UK Global Talent Visa

The UK Global Talent Visa route enables the most highly skilled individuals, who can achieve the required number of points, to enter the UK without a job offer if they are endorsed by a recognised UK body, as approved by the UK Home Office.

This route is designed to attract recognised global leaders and promising individuals in science, humanities, engineering, the arts and the digital technology sector. Top scientists and researchers can benefit from a quicker endorsement process as part of a fast-track STEM scheme.

As of January 2021, the current list of approved endorsing bodies is as follows:

The Royal Society, for science and medicine
The Royal Academy of Engineering, for engineering
The British Academy, for humanities
UK Research and Innovation, for science and research
Tech Nation, for digital technology
Arts Council England, for arts and culture

Applicants can also work in the UK on a Global Talent visa if they’ve won an eligible award. These prizes have been identified by the Global Talent endorsing bodies as demonstrating exceptional talent in the following categories:

Architecture prizes
Arts and culture prizes
Digital technology prizes
Fashion design industry prizes
Film and television prizes
Science, engineering, humanities and medicine prizes

If you hold a prize from any of the lists, you can bypass the endorsement stage of the Global Talent visa application route and go directly to the visa stage.

UK Innovator Founder Visa

The Innovator Founder Visa is for start-up entrepreneurs and experienced businesspeople seeking to establish a business in the UK.

Applicants do not require any specific level of funds to invest in their proposed business, but must have an innovative, viable and scalable business idea that is substantially different from anything else on the market and is supported by a business plan that has been approved by an endorsing body.

Approved Endorsing Bodies for applications under the Innovator Founder visa route are:

Envestors Limited
UK Endorsement Services
Innovator International
The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP)

Innovator Founder Visa applicants are not required to show a specific amount of funds to invest in their proposed business but will need to demonstrate that they have access to a level of investment funds that is sufficient to set up and scale the business.

Applicants for an Innovator Founder Visa must have generated, or have significantly contributed to, their business idea. They must also intend to have a key role in the day-to-day management and development of their business.

Applicants must be able to speak, read, write and understand English.

Innovator Founder visas are valid for three years (renewable) and can lead directly to settlement – generally known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (ILR) – in the UK at the end of this period. Innovator Founder Visa applicants are permitted to bring their partner and any dependent children under the age of 18 to the UK.

Visa holders are required to meet with the endorsing body after 12 months and 24 months to show the business is making progress. The visa may be cut short if the endorsing body withdraws the endorsement. To stay longer, holders must re-apply with a new, endorsement application before the current visa expires.

To qualify for ILR in the UK, an Innovator Founder will be required to demonstrate that the Endorsing Body is satisfied that the applicant has made progress according to the business plan, that the business is active, trading and sustainable, and that the applicant has had an active key role in the day-to-day management and development of the business.

An applicant must also satisfy at least two of the following conditions:

At least £50,000 has been invested into the business and actively spent furthering your business.
The business has created the equivalent of at least five full-time jobs for settled workers, which have an average salary of at least £25,000 a year.
The business has created the equivalent of at least 10 full-time jobs for resident workers with no average salary requirement.
The number of customers has at least doubled within the last three years.
The business has engaged in significant research and development activity and has applied for intellectual property protection in the UK.
The business has generated a minimum annual gross revenue of £1 million in the last full year covered by its accounts.
The business has generated a minimum annual gross revenue of £500,000 in the last full year covered by its accounts, with at least £100,000 from exporting overseas.

UK Global Business Mobility Visa

The Global Business Mobility Visa is aimed at overseas businesses wishing to trade, transfer staff or expand into the UK. There are five full Global Business Mobility visa routes:

Senior or Specialist Worker – for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is a senior manager or specialist employee and is being assigned to a UK business linked to their employer overseas.
Graduate Trainee – for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is on a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position and is required to do a work placement in the UK.
UK Expansion Worker – for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is a senior manager or specialist employee and is being assigned to the UK to undertake work related to a business’s expansion to the UK.
Service Supplier – for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is either a contractual service supplier employed by an overseas service provider or a self-employed independent professional based overseas, and they need to undertake an assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade agreements that is currently in force or is being provisionally applied.
Secondment Worker – for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is being seconded to the UK as part of a high value contract or investment by their employer overseas.

All these visas have individual eligibility requirements but have similar financial requirements for applicants and their dependents. They all also require applicants to have a valid certificate of sponsorship from an authorised sponsor when applying.

The Global Business Mobility routes do not lead to settlement, and permission in these routes will not count towards the qualifying period of stay required to obtain indefinite leave to remain.

1. Senior or Specialist Worker Visa (Global Business Mobility)

To qualify for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa, you must:

Be an existing employee of an organisation that’s been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor.
If you earn less than £73,900 a year you must have worked for your employer outside the UK for at least 12 months. If you earn £73,900 a year or more, there is no minimum time requirement.
Have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer with information about the work you will do in the UK.
Do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations.
Be paid at least £45,800 or the ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher. Each occupation code has its own annual going rate.

Visa holders can stay in the UK for whichever is shorter of the time given on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or five years. They can apply to extend the visa or apply for another one up to the maximum total stay of:

Five years in any six-year period if paid less than £73,900 a year.
Nine years in any 10-year pay period if paid £73,900 a year or more.

2. Graduate Trainee Visa (Global Business Mobility)

Allows applicants to come to or stay in the UK to work in the UK branch of their employer. The job must be eligible and part of a graduate training programme for a managerial or specialist role. To qualify for a Graduate Trainee visa, applicants must:

Be an existing employee of an organisation that’s been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor.
Have worked for the sponsor outside the UK for at least three months immediately before applying.
Have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from the employer with information about the work to be done in the UK.
Do a job that is on the list of eligible occupations.
Be paid at least £24,220 per year.

You can stay in the UK with a Graduate Trainee visa for whichever is shorter of the time given on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or 12 months. You cannot extend your visa, but you can apply for another Graduate Trainee visa from outside the UK.

3. Expansion Worker Visa (Global Business Mobility)

A UK Expansion Worker visa allows employees to come to the UK to set up a branch of an overseas business that has not yet started trading in the UK. Applicants must already work for the overseas business as either a senior manager or specialist employee. To be eligible for a UK Expansion Worker visa, applicants must:

Have a valid certificate of sponsorship from the employer.
Have worked for the employer outside the UK.
Do a job that on the list of eligible occupations.
Be paid at least £45,800 per year or the ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher.

Expansion Worker visa holders can stay in the UK for whichever is shorter of:

12 months after the start date of the job on your certificate of sponsorship.
The time given on the certificate of sponsorship, plus 14 days.

The visa can be extended by a further 12 months but is subject to a maximum period of two years.

4. Service Supplier Visa (Global Business Mobility)

You can apply for a Service Supplier Visa if you have a contract to provide services for a UK company, either as an employee for an overseas company or as a self-employed professional based overseas.

To be eligible for a Service Supplier Visa, applicants must:

Be an employee of an overseas business, or a self-employed service provider based overseas.
Be providing a service to a UK business under a contract that is covered by a valid international trade agreement.
Be doing an eligible job (you can also qualify if you have relevant qualifications and experience).
Have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your UK sponsor with information about the work to be undertaken in the UK.
Have worked for your employer for at least 12 months outside the UK or self-employed service providers must have at least 12 months’ professional experience.
Specific eligibility will depend on the job.

Holders can stay for whichever is the shorter of either six months or 12 months (depending on the trade agreement that services are being provided under) or the time given on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days.

5. Secondment Worker Visa (Global Business Mobility)

The Secondment Worker Visa is for overseas workers who wish to be temporarily seconded to the UK by their overseas employer as part of a high value contract or investment with a UK organisation. To be eligible, an applicant must:

Be an existing employee of an overseas organisation that has a high-value contract with a UK sponsor that has been approved by the Home Office.
Have worked for the overseas employer for at least 12 months outside the UK.
Have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from the sponsor, with information about the work you will perform in the UK.
Do a job in the UK that’s on the list of eligible occupations.

You can stay in the UK for whichever is shorter of 12 months after the start date of the job detailed in the certificate of sponsorship, or the time given on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days. The visa can be extended by a further 12 months but is subject to a maximum period of two years.

UK Global Entrepreneur Programme

The Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP) is the Department for Business & Trade’s flagship programme. It is designed to enable ambitious, internationally mobile entrepreneurs and their innovative science and technology businesses to scale and grow from a UK global headquarters.

Under the GEP, qualifying businesses are provided with an endorsement under the Innovator Founder Visa. (link required) This gives the founders and eligible family members the right to stay in the UK for three years.

To qualify for the programme, applicants need to meet the following criteria:

Business will be beyond the proof-of-concept stage.
Business currently does not have a presence in the UK.
Business will also be generating or on the cusp of generating revenues, ideally with strong intellectual property (IP).
Founder(s) will have a strong willingness to relocate global headquarters to the UK with at least one co-founder to be based in the UK.
Clear plans for building the company in the UK, including fast growth, and creating high skilled jobs in the UK.

The stages for applying under the GEP are as follows:

Dealmaker: an experienced entrepreneur will be assigned to an overseas company to provide them with exclusive one-on-one support and help them relocate to the UK.
GEPIC: an application is sent to an Investment Committee Panel for peer review, and assessment.
Innovator Founder Visa: accepted applicants will attend an interview with the visa team. If successful, applicants will be issued with an application fee an endorsement letter.
Home Office: The founder applies to the Home Office for their Innovator Founder Visa using the endorsement letter.
Set-up of UK HQ: After the visa has been issued, the company has three months to apply for the Innovator Founder visa. If this is not done after three months, step 3 and 4 must be revisited.
Official set-up: A UK entity will be created together with a bank account. Updates will be made to the allocated dealmaker and informal calls with the GEP visa team will take place after 12 and 24 months.

It is important to note that Innovator Founder Visa endorsements will generally only be granted if there are good prospects that the applicant will be able to meet settlement (ILR) requirements at the end of the initial three-year visa period.

UK International Sportsperson Visa

The UK International Sportsperson Visa is for sponsored international high-level sportspeople and coaches who will work to develop their sport in the UK at the elite level. The sponsor is your employer, which must issue a certificate of sponsorship to prove its sponsorship.

Applicants for an International Sportsperson Visa must meet the eligibility requirements and their application must be endorsed by their sport’s governing body, confirming that:

They are an elite sportsperson or qualified coach.
They are internationally established.
Their employment will develop their sport in the UK at the highest level.

UK International Sportsperson Visas are typically granted for a period of up to three years initially, after which you can further extend your stay as long as you remain eligible. After five years, an International Sportsperson Visa holder will be eligible to apply for ILR.

International Sportsperson UK visa holders are able to live, work for the sponsor (including a second job if eligible), play for their national team in the UK, work as a sports broadcaster, study and travel freely in and out of the UK. Holders can also bring dependant family members to join them in the UK.