How the Skilled Worker Visa can help to combat the U.K. skills gap?

Industries within the U.K. are experiencing a skills gap across multiple industries, but particularly when it comes to digital skills. The rapid growth of digital industry, combined with the length of time it takes someone to train through education or re-train from another industry, has meant that some employers may struggle to fill their vacancies from existing labour pools.

Although the increased usage of technologies such as video conferencing software such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, and team management apps such as Monday.com or Slack, have made it easier to hire remotely, some roles require workers to be physically present. This can present an issue when an appropriate person can not be found within the U.K., meaning that they must be recruited from overseas.

Luckily, the U.K. immigration system does provide a specialist visa to tackle this problem. The UK skilled worker visa route combines with the sponsor licence to allow employers within the United Kingdom to hire overseas workers who can come to the country to carry out their duties.

While the skilled worker visa is technically paired with a sponsor licence, we’re going to focus on the visa itself in this article. Once an employer has obtained their sponsor licence, and made an offer of employment to a candidate from overseas, they will need to provide their new worker with a certificate of sponsorship. This will need to be given to them no later than 3 months before they make their application for a skilled worker visa.

The certificate of sponsorship is far from the only requirement that the employee will need to meet in order to be eligible for the visa however. The role they plan to take on will need to pay them at least £25,600 annually, and a higher salary may be required if the ‘market rate’ for the position is above this. If the job role fits a particular profile however, it may be possible to have a lower annual salary. This could include some healthcare or education posts, or working in STEM while holding PhD, or if the role was on the shortage occupation list but paid less than £25,600.

As the name of the visa suggests, it’s designed for workers with a certain level of skill in their field. As such, not all roles are eligible when it comes to applications for this visa. The government has created a list containing 1,100 roles which they feel meet the criteria to be skilled work. Roles such as chief executive positions, civil engineering roles or teaching and nursing roles are present on this but this is far from exhaustive.

The person applying for the visa will also need to show that they have a certain level of ability speaking English, Welsh or Scots Gaelic depending on the place the job is located. The simplest way to do this is to undertake a speaking and listening test which conforms to the Secure English Language Testing framework. The tests can be booked through learning providers like IELTS or Trinity College London. If a candidate meets certain criteria however they may not be required to gain any certification for this criteria.

If they come from a nation where the majority spoken language is English, or the higher education qualification they hold was taught in English, then they may not need to take a test as their level of ability may be high enough already.

Applying for a U.K. visa of course, does incur a cost. As well as the fee’s the employer will need to pay in order to obtain their sponsor licence, they will also be required to pay additional fees. The employee will need to pay a separate set of fees in order to obtain their skilled worker visa.

The employer will need to pay the immigration skills surcharge, and how much they need to pay will depend on the size and type of organisation. Charities and small businesses will be charged a lower rate of £364 for the first 12 months the employee is retained. A further £182 will need to be paid for each 6-month period that follows this.

Larger businesses will be charged £1000 for the first 12 months, and £500 for every subsequent 6 months after this.

Fees for the worker themselves differ based on their location when they apply, and the role they are applying for. If they are applying from outside the United Kingdom and the role is not on the shortage occupation list they will need to pay £625 for 3 years or £1235 for a longer time period.

If they are applying while in the U.K. the fees alter to £719 for 3 years and £1423 for a longer timescale. Regardless of location, if the role is on the shortage occupations list, then the applicant can pay a lower fee of £479 for 3 years or £943 for more. In addition to this, the applicant will likely need to pay the immigration health surcharge each year, which is currently set at £624 but is subject to change.

The maximum time an applicant can remain in the U.K. under the skilled worker visa is 5 years, however, this is the time period needed to gain eligibility for indefinite leave to remain.

While both the employer and employee are able to apply for their respective licences and visas without any assistance, it is sometimes beneficial to obtain the help of legal professionals when applying. Due to the complexity of the applications, and the range of evidence needed to meet certain criteria, a qualified legal practitioner with experience in the immigration field will be able to ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible, helping to navigate any difficult issues as they arise.