Change description : 2025-04-09 00:01:00: The guidance has been updated to reflect changes to the Immigration Rules coming into force on 9 April 2025, as set out in Statement of Changes HC 733 (published on 12 March 2025), and to make some other minor amendments and clarifications. [Guidance and regulation]
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Guidance for employers on how to sponsor a worker on the Skilled Worker immigration route.
The Skilled Worker route allows employers to recruit people to work in the UK in a specific job in an eligible skilled occupation. Eligible occupations are listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations.
Guidance updated to reflect a commitment given in the Written Ministerial Statement of 28 November 2024 to prohibit the passing on of Skilled Worker sponsor licence or Certificate of Sponsorship fees to sponsored workers by the end of 2024. A full list of changes can be found in the guidance.
8 October 2024
Updates made to reflect changes to the Immigration Rules coming into effect on 8 October 2024.
4 April 2024
Updated to reflect changes to the Immigration Rules. A full list of changes is in the 'changes to this guidance' section.
11 March 2024
The guidance has been updated to reflect changes to the Immigration Rules coming into force on 11 March 2024 – these changes primarily affect sponsors of care workers and senior care workers with a working location in England. A full list of the changes is in the guidance.
17 July 2023
The guidance has been updated to reflect changes to the Immigration Rules coming into effect on 17 July 2023 and 7 August 2023, as set out in Statement of Changes HC 1496. Changes are detailed on page 6.
14 April 2023
Guidance updated as detailed on page 6.
30 March 2023
Updated guidance to give advance notice for some significant changes to the Immigration Rules, including how much sponsors have to pay Skilled Workers.
9 November 2022
Updated guidance.
14 April 2022
Added HTML accessible version.
11 April 2022
Updated guide for use on or after 11 April 2022.
15 February 2022
Guidance updated with the following changes: SK2.3: paragraph on licence renewal added; subsequent paragraphs in this section renumbered accordingly; SK3.5, SK4.1, SK4.2, SK5.1, SK6.1 (row D of table), SK6.12, SK7.9, SK11.18 (14th bullet point): minor amendments to reflect that jobs under occupation code
6145 (Care workers and home carers) have been added to Appendix Shortage Occupation List and are now eligible for the Skilled Worker route (as set out in Statement of Changes HC 1009); SK10.1: new bullet point added to reflect that workers sponsored under occupation code 6145 are subject to the overseas criminal records requirement (as set out in Statement of Changes HC 1009); SK11.11: amended to reflect the ending of the fee concession for Certificates of Sponsorship assigned to CESC nationals from 26 February 2022 (as set out in Schedule 3 to the Immigration and Nationality (Replacement of T2 Sportsperson Route and Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2021); SK11.11A: new paragraph to reflect ending of the above concession; SK13.4: new bullet point added to reflect that workers sponsored under
occupation code 6145 are now eligible for the Health and Care visa; other minor housekeeping changes.
30 December 2021
Guidance updated to correct various hyperlinks.
13 October 2021
Guidance updated to reflect minor changes to the Immigration Rules that came into effect on 6 October 2021; reflect changes to the process for checking whether a worker needs an ATAS certificate; and to make some other minor amendments and clarifications.
26 May 2021
Updated guidance correcting the list of eligible Health and Care visa occupation codes.
6 April 2021
Updated guidance reflects changes to the Immigration Rules as set out in the Statement of Changes (HC 1248). Including the introduction of the minimum £10.10 hourly rate for Skilled Workers applying from 6 April 2021, clarification of the circumstances in which a Skilled Worker’s salary can be reduced without a new application for permission, the introduction of the ATAS requirement for certain roles from 21 May 2021, and minor clarifications.
18 December 2020
Updated guidance to provide clarification to sponsors on how to enter PAYE references.