Work permit in United Kingdom

• A Skilled Worker visa lets you come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job with an approved employer. You need a certificate of sponsorship from that employer, and a confirmed job offer before you apply.
• The visa is tied to a sponsoring employer, so it is for employees. GOV.UK's list of work visas names no digital nomad, remote worker or self-employed route; the page is the evidence, and GOV.UK does not say in words that no such route exists.
• Higher-skilled jobs are eligible when their 4-digit occupation code is listed as higher skilled. Medium-skilled jobs are eligible only if the job is on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, or is a prison officer job for someone extending or switching.
• The Immigration Salary List entries for bricklayers, roofers, carpenters and joiners carry a removal date of 31 December 2026, for certificates of sponsorship issued before that date. Whether those jobs stay eligible after that is unknown.
• Care worker jobs (occupation codes 6135 and 6136) need an employer registered with the Care Quality Commission in England.

Sources: GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration), UK Visas and Immigration. Checked 16 October 2026.

• Your pay must be the higher of the general minimum of £41,700 a year and the going rate for the job's occupation code, so a job whose going rate is above the general minimum needs the higher pay. To be safe, have a job paying more than £42,000, or the going rate if that is higher.
• Lower salary floors apply in set cases, from £33,400 to £37,500 a year. To be safe, if you rely on one of them, have a job paying more than £38,000 (and at least the reduced going rate for your case).
• Someone under 26, studying, a recent graduate or in professional training can be paid 70% of the job's standard going rate, with a floor of about £33,400 a year; to be safe, have more than £34,000. A job on the Immigration Salary List has the same floor and still needs the standard going rate.
• A relevant STEM PhD allows 80% of the standard going rate, with a floor of £33,400 a year. A relevant non-STEM PhD allows 90% of the standard going rate, with a floor of £37,500 a year.
• Healthcare and education jobs follow national pay scales, not the general going rate. GOV.UK treats them on a separate page and gives no figure on the page read here.
• You must show enough personal savings, which GOV.UK sets at about £1,300 held for 28 days in a row, unless your employer's certificate of sponsorship shows it will cover your first month. To be safe, hold more than £1,300.

Sources: GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026.

• You need the certificate of sponsorship reference number from your employer, your job title and annual salary, the job's occupation code, and your employer's name and sponsor licence number.
• You need a valid passport, or another document showing your identity and nationality, and proof of your knowledge of English unless you are exempt.
• Bank statements or similar showing your personal savings may be asked for, unless the certificate of sponsorship shows your employer can support you.
• A criminal record certificate is needed if you apply from outside the UK and work in certain jobs, such as education, healthcare, therapy or social services. It covers each country where you lived for 12 months or more in the 10 years before applying, while aged 18 or over.
• Other documents depend on your case: proof of the relationship for a partner or child applying with you, a valid ATAS certificate if your employer says the job needs one, your UK PhD certificate or an Ecctis reference number for a non-UK qualification, and certified translations of anything not in English or Welsh.

Sources: GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026.

• You apply online. You then prove your identity either with the UK Immigration: ID Check app or by giving fingerprints and a photo at a visa application centre, which may be in another country.
• A decision usually comes within 3 weeks of applying, proving your identity and providing your documents. It can take longer if documents need checking, an interview is needed or your circumstances need review, and a faster decision may be available for a fee.
• You can apply up to 3 months before your job start date.
• If you are already in the UK on another visa, a decision usually comes within 8 weeks. You cannot switch from a visit visa, a short-term student visa, a seasonal worker visa, a domestic worker visa, immigration bail or leave outside the rules.
• You can cancel an application, but the fee is refunded only if UK Visas and Immigration has not started processing it.

Sources: GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026.

• From outside the UK the application fee is £819 for up to 3 years or £1,618 for more than 3 years. For a job on the Immigration Salary List the fees are £628 and £1,235.
• The immigration health surcharge is usually £1,035 for each year of your visa.
• You, your partner and your children each pay the application fee and the healthcare surcharge for each year of stay.

Sources: GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026.

• The visa can last up to 5 years before you need to extend it.
• You can extend as many times as you like, as long as you still meet the eligibility requirements.
• A partner's or child's dependant visa usually ends when yours does.
• For a job listed as medium skilled, a partner or child outside the UK can join only if you have been continually employed in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa in a medium skilled job since before 22 July 2025, or the child was born in the UK. Electricians, plumbers, roofers, and carpenters and joiners are listed as medium skilled.

Sources: GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026.

• Work visa holders usually need to have lived and worked in the UK for 5 years before applying for indefinite leave to remain. Some visas allow 3 years, but those are other routes, such as Global Talent and Innovator Founder.
• GOV.UK's guide to the Skilled Worker visa says that after 5 years you may be able to apply to settle permanently. Settlement rules are separate from the visa rules, so check the Home Office page when you apply.

Sources: GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026.

• You are UK tax resident if you meet an automatic UK test or the sufficient ties test and no automatic overseas test. Spending 183 or more days in the UK in a tax year (6 April to 5 April) meets the first automatic UK test.
• UK residents normally pay UK tax on income from the UK and abroad. The tax year in which you arrive is usually split into a non-resident part and a resident part.
• For 2026 to 2027 outside Scotland the Personal Allowance is £12,570, then 20% up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above. Scotland sets its own bands: 19% to £16,537, 20% to £29,526, 21% to £43,662, 42% to £75,000, 45% to £125,140 and 48% above.
• Employees pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on weekly earnings from £242.01 to £967 and 2% above.
• Overseas Workday Relief covers employment income for duties you perform outside the UK in the first years of residence, up to the lower of 30% of the qualifying income or about £300,000. To be safe, have more than £310,000. Work you do while in the UK is not covered.
• The 4-year foreign income and gains regime can apply if you are in your first 4 years as a UK tax resident after at least 10 years as a non-UK tax resident. Foreign earnings are not eligible, and claiming it loses the tax-free allowances for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.

Sources: HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK), legislation.gov.uk (UK Parliament), GOV.UK (HM Revenue and Customs). Checked 16 October 2026.

• Family visa in United Kingdom

• Visas in United Kingdom
• United Kingdom

1. Skilled Worker visa: knowledge of English, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: nationals of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA are on the list of countries whose nationals do not need to prove their English.
2. Tuberculosis tests for visa applicants: countries where you need a test, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026; the page shows no update date. The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand do not appear on the list.
3. Criminal records checks for overseas applicants: countries Q to Z (United States), GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 31 January 2025, read on 16 October 2026. United States: FBI Identification Record (Identity History Summary) issued by the FBI or an FBI-approved channeller; channeller certificates for US citizens and permanent residents only.
4. Criminal record certificate requirement (accessible), GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 11 November 2025 (version 4.0), read on 16 October 2026. Certificates from each country lived in for 12 months or more in the 10 years before applying, while aged 18 or over; issued no earlier than 6 months before the application for the latest country; applies to Skilled Worker jobs in listed occupation codes.
5. Youth Mobility Scheme visa: eligibility, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: ages 18 to 35 for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea; at least £2,530 in the bank for 28 days in a row; no one with children under 18 living with them or financially dependent.
6. Youth Mobility Scheme visa, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: up to 24 months, application fee £340, healthcare surcharge usually £776 a year, savings £2,530, extension of one year for Australia, Canada and New Zealand, work in most jobs, self-employment on conditions, no family on the application.
7. US citizens abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 16 October 2026. US citizens abroad file in the same way as those at home, on worldwide income.
8. UK-USA income tax convention of 2001 (full text), US Department of the Treasury. Checked 16 October 2026. Article 1(4) saving clause and 1(5) exceptions, Article 4 residence and tie-breaker, Articles 10 to 12 dividends, interest and royalties, Article 14 employment income, Article 17(3) social security payments, Article 24 relief from double taxation.
9. USA: tax treaties, HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK). Checked 16 October 2026. The 2001 convention as amended by the 2002 protocol is in force; entered into force on 31 March 2003; effective in the UK from 6 April 2003 for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
10. Criminal records checks for overseas applicants: countries A to F (Australia, Canada), GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Page set updated 31 January 2025, read on 16 October 2026. Australia: National Police Check from the Australian Federal Police (entry last updated 12 July 2016). Canada: RCMP, with a full set of fingerprints when applying from outside Canada (entry last updated 18 October 2016).
11. Canada: tax treaties, HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: lists the 1978 Canada-UK Double Taxation Convention as in force.
12. Australia: tax treaties, HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: lists the 2003 Australia-UK Double Taxation Convention as in force.
13. Criminal records checks for overseas applicants: countries G to P (New Zealand), GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Page set updated 31 January 2025, read on 16 October 2026. New Zealand: Criminal Conviction Report from the Criminal Records Unit, Ministry of Justice; no charge; about 20 working days (entry last updated 14 July 2016).
14. New Zealand: tax treaties, HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: lists the 1983 UK-New Zealand Double Taxation Convention as in force; a 2026 convention was added on 10 June 2026 and is marked not in force.
15. Skilled Worker visa, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Job offer from an approved employer, certificate of sponsorship, eligible occupation, minimum salary 41,700 pounds or the going rate, lower floors in set cases; fees 819 and 1,618 pounds; immigration health surcharge 1,035 pounds a year; 1,270 pounds for 28 days; decision within 3 weeks from outside the UK; the United States is listed as a country whose nationals need not prove English.
16. Skilled Worker visa: your job, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026; the page shows no update date. Higher of 41,700 pounds a year or the going rate; higher-skilled jobs by 4-digit code; medium-skilled only on the Immigration Salary List, the Temporary Shortage List or as a prison officer when extending or switching; care worker codes 6135 and 6136 need an employer registered with the Care Quality Commission in England.
17. Work visas, UK Visas and Immigration, GOV.UK. Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026. Routes named without a job offer: British National (Overseas), Graduate, Youth Mobility Scheme, India Young Professionals Scheme, Global Talent, UK Ancestry and High Potential Individual. With an employer or by invitation: Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Global Business Mobility routes (Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee, Secondment Worker, Service Supplier, UK Expansion Worker), Representative of an Overseas Business, Scale-up Worker, temporary work routes, and Innovator Founder (start a business). Closed to new applicants: Entrepreneur and Investor (Tier 1), Start-up and the Turkish routes. No digital nomad, remote worker or self-employed route is named. The page is the evidence of absence; GOV.UK does not state in words that no such route exists.
18. Immigration Rules Appendix Immigration Salary List, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: stonemasons, bricklayers, roofers, carpenters and joiners (all jobs), high integrity pipe welders with 3 or more years of experience, and retrofitters are listed with a removal date of 31 December 2026 (for certificates of sponsorship issued before that date).
19. Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker (updated 8 October 2026), GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Salary options A to F: 41,700 pounds and the going rate; 37,500 pounds with a relevant PhD; 33,400 pounds for a STEM PhD, the Immigration Salary List or a new entrant; funds of 1,270 pounds or sponsor certifies maintenance.
20. Skilled Worker visa: when you can be paid less, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026; the page shows no update date. 70 percent of the going rate with a floor of 33,400 pounds (under 26, student, recent graduate or professional training); 33,400 pounds on the Immigration Salary List; 80 percent with a floor of 33,400 pounds (STEM PhD); 90 percent with a floor of 37,500 pounds (non-STEM PhD).
21. Skilled Worker visa: how much it costs, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: fee £819 up to 3 years or £1,618 over 3 years from outside the UK; £628 and £1,235 if the job is on the Immigration Salary List; healthcare surcharge usually £1,035 a year; £1,270 available for 28 days.
22. Skilled Worker visa: documents you must provide, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026; the page shows no update date. Lists the certificate of sponsorship reference, proof of English, passport, job title and salary, occupation code, sponsor licence number; conditionally funds, tuberculosis test, criminal record certificate, relationship proof, ATAS, PhD or Ecctis reference, certified translations.
23. Skilled Worker visa: apply from outside the UK, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026; the page shows no update date. Online application; ID Check app or biometrics at a visa application centre; usual decision within 3 weeks; a faster decision may be available; fee refunded only if processing has not started.
24. Skilled Worker visa: switch to this visa, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026; the page shows no update date. Decision usually within 8 weeks from inside the UK; cannot switch from a visit visa, short-term student visa, seasonal worker visa, domestic worker visa, immigration bail or leave outside the rules.
25. Skilled Worker visa: your partner and children, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: a partner and children under 18 can apply as dependants on separate applications; for a job listed as medium skilled, a partner or child outside the UK can join only if you have been continually employed in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa in a medium skilled job since before 22 July 2025, or the child was born in the UK.
26. Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Page last updated 22 July 2025, read on 16 October 2026: lists electricians, plumbers, roofers and carpenters and joiners as Medium Skilled.
27. Check if you can get indefinite leave to remain, GOV.UK (Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration). Checked 16 October 2026. Work visa holders usually need to have lived and worked in the UK for 5 years; Global Talent and Innovator Founder can be 3 years.
28. Tax on foreign income, HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK). Checked 16 October 2026. UK residents normally pay UK tax on all income whether from the UK or abroad; Statutory Residence Test automatic UK and overseas tests; tax year 6 April to 5 April; split-year treatment; Self Assessment; claiming relief when taxed twice.
29. Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45: Statutory Residence Test, legislation.gov.uk (UK Parliament). Checked 16 October 2026. The law behind the automatic UK tests, the automatic overseas tests and the sufficient ties test.
30. Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (tax year 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK). Checked 16 October 2026. Personal Allowance 12,570 pounds; 20 percent to 50,270 pounds; 40 percent to 125,140 pounds; 45 percent above; allowance reduced above 100,000 pounds; bands differ in Scotland.
31. Income Tax in Scotland, GOV.UK (HM Revenue and Customs). Checked 16 October 2026. Read on 16 October 2026: 2026 to 2027 Scottish bands after the £12,570 Personal Allowance: 19% to £16,537, 20% to £29,526, 21% to £43,662, 42% to £75,000, 45% to £125,140, 48% above.
32. National Insurance rates and categories (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK). Checked 16 October 2026. Employee category A: 8 percent between 242.01 and 967 pounds a week and 2 percent above.
33. Overseas Workday Relief (updated 6 April 2026), HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK). Checked 16 October 2026. Relief for qualifying new residents on employment income for duties performed outside the UK; limit of the lower of 30 percent or 300,000 pounds; election in Self Assessment loses the Personal Allowance and annual exempt amount for the year.
34. Check if you can claim the 4-year foreign income and gains regime, HM Revenue and Customs (GOV.UK). Checked 16 October 2026. From 6 April 2025 the regime replaced the remittance basis; qualifying resident after at least 10 years non-UK resident; maximum 4 years; claimed on Self Assessment; foreign earnings not eligible; allowances lost.
35. Finance Act 2025, Part 2: replacement of the special rules for foreign income and gains, legislation.gov.uk (UK Parliament). Checked 16 October 2026. Chapter 1: new rules for foreign income and gains of individuals becoming UK resident; Schedule 9: no remittance basis for tax years after 2024-25.