The above visa categories are intended for high-value migrants. The visas are not job-specific and do not require sponsorship from an employer (there are exceptions). The main subcategories are as follows:

Investor

This route was deleted following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)

Business owners (or prospective owners) can no longer apply for a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa. Applying for an Innovator Founder visa might be more appropriate for those intending to set up run a business in the UK.

Innovator Founder visa

The applicant can apply for an Innovator Founder visa if they meet the following criteria:

• They want to set up and run an innovative business in the UK — it must be something different from anything else on the market.
• The business or business idea has been endorsed by an approved body, also known as an endorsing body.
• They meet the other eligibility requirements. 

Eligibility

The applicant must be able to show that the business idea is as follows:

• New (They cannot join a business that is already trading.)
• Innovative (There must be an original business idea, which is different from anything else on the market.)
• Viable, with potential for growth
• Scalable (Evidence of planning, which includes creating jobs and growing into national and international markets, must be provided.)

An endorsing body must assess that the business idea meets the route's requirements.

Knowledge of English

Applicants must be able to speak, read, write and understand English. They must prove their knowledge of English (by taking a prescribed test or holding a degree taught in English) when applying.

The applicant must meet with the endorsing body after 12 months and 24 months to show that progress is being made with the business. Visas could be cut short if the endorsing body withdraws the endorsement, in which case the applicant would have to reapply with a new endorsement before the current visa expires.

The applicant can do the following:

• Set up a business or several businesses
• Work for the business (This includes being employed as a director, or self-employed as a member of a business partnership.)
• Do work outside the business, but only "skilled work" — for example, a job on the Skilled Worker eligible occupations list or a job needing a level 3 qualification
• Bring dependents

Extensions are for a further three years when the visa is due to expire. There is no limit on the number of times an applicant can extend.

Applicants are eligible to apply for permanent residence once they have been in the UK for three years.

Global Talent visa

A Global Talent visa to work in the UK is for applicants who are leaders or potential leaders in one of the following fields:

• Academia or research
• Arts and culture
• Digital technology

A Global Talent visa applicant must usually have received an endorsement to prove that they are a leader or potential leader.

Applications for the visa are accepted without an endorsement if the applicant has won an eligible award from published lists (in architecture, arts and culture, digital technology, fashion, film and television, science, engineering, humanities, social sciences, and medicine).

Visas are granted for up to five years at a time.

• There's no limit to the stay in the UK in total, but the visa must be renewed before it expires. Each extension can last from one to five years — applicants choose how long they want the extension to be.
• Indefinite leave to remain can be obtained after three or five years, depending on the field of work and method of application.

Employers are required to have a license to employ nationals from outside the EEA. This requirement was extended to EEA nationals from January 2021. The so-called licensed sponsor is then authorized to use the sponsor management system. This online platform allows companies to sponsor migrants to work in the UK.

Once an employer is registered as a licensed sponsor, it will be ready to sponsor employees from overseas to work in the UK under the sponsored work categories. Under this system, it is up to the employer to assess whether an individual meets the published criteria for a certificate of sponsorship (a work permit) to be issued. The company will then be able to issue a certificate and send it to the employee to apply for a visa.

To apply for a license, each employer will need to appoint an individual to the following prescribed roles:

• Authorizing officer (AO)
• Key contact
• Level 1 user
• Level 2 user (not essential)

All four roles can be filled by the same person, by four different people or by a combination of the two. The AO role must be undertaken by a permanent member of staff who is based in the UK, and at least one level 1 user must be an employee of the company and a settled UK-based member of staff.

Background checks and checks on the Police National Computer will be undertaken on key personnel. Each of these roles carries some degree of responsibility for the functioning of the new system.

The AO is the most senior role within the sponsor management system and is responsible for assigning other key personnel and supervising their conduct (including both employees and any appointed representatives). However, the AO does not have to be involved in the day-to-day operation of the sponsor management system and does not have automatic access to this system. However, they could also be a level 1 or level 2 user, which would give them access, as the AO is only required to carry out regular checks on the sponsor's certificate of sponsorship usage on a monthly basis.

The key contact acts as the main point of contact with UK Visas and Immigration. UK Visas and Immigration may contact this individual for any queries with applications (e.g., requests for documents or payment enquiries). The key contact does not have automatic access to the sponsor management system, but can be a level 1 or level 2 user as well, which would provide them with access.

The level 1 user deals with the day-to-day administrative activities of the sponsor management system (e.g., assigning certificates of sponsorship to employees/prospective employees and reporting changes of circumstances). The level 1 user can also create and remove users from the sponsor management system.

Level 2 users undertake the same type of administrative tasks as the level 1 user, but cannot create and remove users. Any number of level 2 users can be appointed.

In return for being granted a license and the ability to issue certificates of sponsorship, the employer must agree to undertake a number of duties (e.g., recording certain information, reporting certain facts to UK Visas and Immigration, complying with relevant legislation and cooperating with UK Visas and Immigration).

As part of the licensing process, UK Visas and Immigration will make an on-site visit to the employer's business premises to check that it has the systems in place to meet the new obligations that arise from being granted a license. Therefore, any employer considering applying for a license should undertake a compliance audit before filing a license application.

Licensed employers are required to assess whether an employee meets the minimum points threshold for a certificate to be obtained. Points are allocated for two criteria, "attributes" and "maintenance," with an additional criterion for "English language" where relevant.

Although the company is responsible for issuing certificates of sponsorship under the system, UK Visas and Immigration can undertake a review of any decisions made after a certain number of certificates have been issued. If the company is found to have incorrectly issued the certificates or not to have complied with any of the obligations, it could have its license downgraded from an "A" rating, or even withdrawn. If its license is withdrawn, any existing employees working under a certificate could be required to leave the UK within 60 days. Therefore, it is important for any company using the system to ensure that it fully complies with the requirements.

Expansion Worker visa

In April 2022, UK Visas and Immigration amended the sponsorship process for companies that are not yet trading in the UK or do not have the required personnel available to apply for a sponsor license. This route replaced the deleted Representatives of Overseas Business category.

This route allows an employee to come to the UK to set up a branch of an overseas business that has not started trading in the UK. The applicant must already work for the overseas business as either a senior manager or a specialist employee. Unless an exception* applies, all businesses applying under UK Expansion Worker must submit evidence of the following:

1. A UK footprint, such as proof of having registered a UK branch (or owning or leasing a UK premises)
2. An overseas trading presence for at least 12 months before the date of the application (unless an exception applies)
3. Planned expansion — one document listed under (a) and two listed under (b) below
   1. Evidence of capability to fund planned expansion — as listed in the guidance
   2. Evidence of expansion plans — as listed in the guidance
4. Other documents — as listed in the guidance (unless an exception applies)

Once the sponsor license is in place, the employee can apply for the Expansion Worker visa to enter the UK to start the business. The employee would be granted an initial two-year visa, but the license would need to be "upgraded" to a full sponsor license to enable the sponsorship of further workers. The employee's visa must also be upgraded into the Skilled Worker route to allow the employee to be in a visa route that leads to permanent residence in the UK after five years.

*Exceptions:

1. The overseas business is listed on the London Stock Exchange on either the Main or AIM Market.
2. The overseas business is listed on an international stock exchange that the Financial Conduct Authority considers to have an equivalent level of regulation to UK markets.

Long-term work visas enable employers in the UK to recruit migrants where a British worker cannot fill a particular job. Employers that would like to employ migrant workers must have a sponsorship license, which enables them to issue certificates of sponsorship (work permits) to employees.

The employer leads the long-term work permit application process, and the employer/sponsoring company is responsible for applying on behalf of the applicant.

Skilled Worker

The Skilled Worker visa allows a migrant to come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job with an employer that holds a sponsor license.

Employers can transfer existing employees of an overseas entity under a Skilled Worker visa even if they meet the requirements for the Global Business Mobility (Intracompany Transfer) route, which is a more favorable option as it leads to permanent residence.

The Skilled Worker visa replaced the Tier 2 (General) work visa on 1 December 2020, and those with existing permission can apply to extend or for permanent residence under the Skilled Worker criteria.

Applicants must score a minimum number of points, including for maintenance and English language.

Criminal record certificate

On 6 April 2017, the government introduced a requirement for Tier 2 (General) applicants to provide a criminal record certificate as part of their visa application if they are to be involved in education, healthcare, therapy or social services.

Global Business Mobility

This category allows multinational companies to transfer employees from their overseas organizations into a UK branch or subsidiary to undertake a skilled job. Applicants must score a minimum number of points; however, applicants do not have to satisfy the English language requirement.

The Global Business Mobility category is split into five subcategories.

• Senior or Specialist Worker (replaces the Intracompany Transfer category)
• Graduate Trainee
• UK Expansion Worker
• Service Supplier
• Secondment Worker

Senior or Specialist Worker — for overseas workers undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK. The worker should be a senior manager or specialist employee that is assigned to a UK business linked to their employer overseas.

Graduate Trainee — for overseas workers undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK. The employee must be on a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position and must be required for a placement in the UK.

UK Expansion Worker — for overseas workers undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK. The worker must be a senior manager or specialist employee and be assigned to the UK to undertake work related to a business' expansion to the UK.

Service Supplier — for overseas workers undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK. The worker must be either a contractual service supplier employed by an overseas service provider or a self-employed independent professional based overseas who needs to carry out an assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK's international trade agreements.

Secondment Worker — for overseas workers undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK. This is where the worker is seconded to the UK as part of a high-value contract or investment by their employer overseas.

Dependent partners and children can apply under these routes.

The Global Business Mobility routes do not lead to settlement (indefinite leave to remain), and time spent in the UK under these routes cannot count toward the qualifying period of stay required for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Under the short-term work visa, an applicant can enter the UK for a limited period if, where applicable, they have a job offer from a licensed sponsor and they meet the eligibility requirements. There are six subcategories under this route.

Youth Mobility Scheme

The Youth Mobility Scheme allows 18-30 (in some cases, 18-35) year olds from participating countries to experience life in the UK. The category is quota-based, and visa applications from the below-listed countries will be accepted until their country's annual allocation has been reached. However, there is no quota for those who have certain types of British nationality.

Currently, only the following countries are participating in the scheme:

• Australia — 35,000 places
• Canada — 8,000 places
• Hong Kong SAR — 1,000 places
• Iceland — 1,000 places
• India — 3,000 places
• Japan — 1,500 places
• Monaco — 1,000 places
• New Zealand — 13,000 places
• Republic of Korea — 1,000 places
• San Marino — 1,000 places
• Taiwan — 1,000 places

The visa is granted for two years, and applicants can undertake any work in the UK except self-employment (subject to certain exceptions), working as a professional sportsperson or working as a doctor in training.

Self-employment/setting up a company is permitted as long as premises are rented, the equipment does not exceed GBP 5,000 and there are no employees.

Temporary Worker — Creative

This category is for creative artists and entertainers coming to fulfill short-term contracts/engagements in the UK.

Temporary Worker — Government Authorized Exchange

This category offers migrants a route to enable a short-term exchange of knowledge and best practice through employment while experiencing the wider social and cultural setting of the UK.

Temporary Worker — International Agreement

This category authorizes migrants who are legally entitled under international law to come to work in the UK for a limited period of time.

Temporary Worker — Charity Worker

This category authorizes migrants to do unpaid voluntary work for a charity.

Temporary Worker — Religious Worker

This category authorizes migrants to do religious work, e.g., preaching or working in a religious order.

Temporary Worker — Seasonal Worker

This category is for migrants coming to the UK as seasonal workers in the horticulture sector or the poultry production sector through an approved scheme operator.

Since 18 March 2015, biometric residence permits (BRPs) for entry clearance applicants have been issued. Previously, applicants applying for a visa were only issued a vignette, which was placed into their passport and confirmed the full period of leave they had been granted. This has been replaced with a 90-day short-term travel vignette to allow employees to enter the UK if they are applying for visas for longer than six months. Once these employees have arrived in the UK and before the 90-day period elapses, they must collect a credit card-sized BRP from a designated post office (or representative), which will confirm their full period of leave and which they will need to keep with their passports.

Migrant workers coming (i.e., under the Skilled Worker or Global Business Mobility routes) can only start working in the UK after presenting their valid short-term travel vignette to their employer. They must then obtain their new BRP before the vignette expires or within 10 days of arriving in the UK, whichever is later. The BRP can be used to access a share code, which must be presented to the employer, who can then check and record the right to work online before work commences.

For some types of applications, EU nationals only receive digital status for the full period of leave instead of a vignette and BRP. From 31 December 2024, all UK BRPs will expire, and the holders' visa status will become virtual.

On 6 April 2017, the government introduced an annual immigration skills charge. The skills charge applies to a worker assigned a certificate of sponsorship of six months or more on or after 6 April 2017 in the Skilled Worker or Global Business Mobility routes. The charge does not apply to PhD-level jobs and students switching from student visas.

The amount of the skills charge payable depends on the size of the organization and the length of employment stated on the employee's certificate of sponsorship. The skills charge is GBP 1,000 per person, per year. If the individual has charitable status or is subject to the small companies' regime, they are eligible to pay the small charge of GBP 364 per person, per year.

The charge is payable at the same time that they pay to assign a certificate of sponsorship to sponsor someone to carry out a skilled job in the UK. In addition to a certificate of sponsorship of less than six months, there are other limited exemptions to the skills charge.

The immigration skills charge must not be passed on to the employee.

Graduate route

The Graduate visa has been available to international students who have completed a degree in the UK since the summer of 2021. This enables international students to remain in the UK and work at any skill level for two years after they have completed their studies. It is an unsponsored route.

International students who complete a PhD from summer 2021 can stay in the UK to live and work for three years after they have completed their studies.

This route has made it easier for international graduates to secure skilled jobs in the UK under the sponsored routes.