UK Visas
UK Visas and Work Permits
Expanding into a country or hiring a workforce abroad can lead your business to great profits, but unfamiliar laws and regulations can counteract your company’s goals and plans. At Bradford Jacobs, we want to eliminate this complicated part. By using our PEO service we can arrange all needed visas and permits including the entire application process without your physical presence. Few companies have these resources, or the time. We are experts in hiring staff, applying for work visas in the UK and ensuring employees meet UK work visa requirements with the correct documentation.
Our team is trained to research the latest information on UK visas and work permits and therefore, we created a guide to introduce you to the rules and requirements. By reading this guide you will get familiar with all the requirements so you or your employees can start working in the UK in no time.
UK Work Visa Permits
Applicants must have a confirmed job offer from a licensed UK employer who will act as sponsor, possess a Sponsorship Certificate issued by the employer and have passed a points-based assessment. The employer handles the procedure. Obtaining a UK work visa involves meeting strict eligibility criteria, which may vary for different countries and can apply to high value workers as well as temporary employees and domestic staff under the tier system.
What are the types of UK Work Visas?
The points-based tier system assesses applicants, who must score a minimum number total, depending on the category of visa being applied for:
- Tier 1: High Value Migrants
- Tier 2: Skilled Workers
- Tier 3: Unskilled Workers
- Tier 4: Adult Students
- Tier 5: Temporary Workers
We also advise on other routes into the UK. Commonwealth citizens with a British grandparent can apply for an ancestry visa. If an employee left the UK for over two years through ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (ILR) they may need only a returning resident visa to work.
Applying for a Work Visa in the UK
Employees should apply three months before their start date, either via an application center or the UK Home Office Visas and Immigration Service. Applicants must check which tier of visa they need as evaluation and assessments can vary for each. Having only a visitors’ visa will not allow them to work. Companies can onboard foreign employees into the UK, but various visa types depend on skills and qualifications, job offer, sponsorship and whether family travels with the worker. No matter the type of Visa, an individual applying for a work visa requires:
- a valid passport or travel ID
- two colored photographs taken in the last six months
- proof of financial means
- proof of accommodation
- travel itinerary
- test results from a tuberculosis test
- biometric information
- a sponsor confirmation from their UK employer
- proof of English language ability
- proof of healthcare
- confirmation of receiving a minimum wage
- certified translations of diplomas and/or certificates
- Processing of a visa takes at least 3 weeks.
Make Bradford Jacobs your partner in applying for work visas in the UK and sidestep issues which will eat up the time you should be spending on advancing business expansion. UK work visa requirements are complex. Don’t risk mistakes that could cost time and money.