Personal Immigration: Talent and Work Visas

Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa now known as Global Talent Visa

Effective from February 20, 2020, the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa has been rebranded as the Global Talent Visa. This enables more foreign national workers to be eligible for the program.

The program is intended for individuals who are leaders in their chosen fields, at the very highest level of work or knowledge. It includes categories like science, engineering, digital technology and arts and culture.

Applications who have achieved excellence in these areas will be able to enter to work in the UK on a path to permanent residence.

How to apply for a Global Talent Visa for the UK?

Before you apply for a Global Talent Vias, you need to apply for endorsement from an organization that is recognized as an expert in your domain.

Once you have an endorsement, you can submit your application on the Visas and immigration website of the UK Home Office and register. You will also need to submit a set of required documents and pay endorsement fees.

Based on your chosen field of expertise, the UK Home Office will forward your endorsement application to an endorsement body for review.

The endorsement process time can vary from one to eight weeks depending on the organization that is reviewing your application.

Once you have received an endorsement, you can apply for a UK Visa using the endorsement letter and other relevant supporting documents.

If you already have a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa, you can still apply:

To settle in the UK or ILR
For family members to join you

However, to extend your visa, you must apply for a Global talent Visa.

Our team has detailed experience of dealing with Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa applications. Call us now on 020 3713 7052 to speak to one of our expert advisors.

Return of the 2-year post-study work visa

Graduate Immigration Route

Starting summer 2021, international students who have successfully completed an undergraduate or master’s degree will be able to benefit from two years’ work experience in the UK upon graduation, through the new Graduate Route. Students who have completed their PhD will be able to stay for three years.

Who might be able to apply

From summer of 2021, the Graduate Immigration Route will be available to international students who have completed a degree at undergraduate level or above at a provider with a track record of compliance and those who have a valid Tier 4 visa at the time of application.
This route allows successful applicants to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for a maximum period of two years. They can switch into skilled work once they have found a suitable job.
Any eligible student graduating in the summer of 2021 or after will be able to apply for the route. This also includes students who have already started their courses.

The Health and Care Worker visa enables medical professionals to come to or stay in the UK for an eligible job with the NHS, an NHS supplier or in adult care.

Eligibility
Your job

To be eligible for Health and Care Worker visa, you need to be:

A qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional
Able to work in an eligible health or social care job
An employee of a UK employer approved by the Home Office
Able to produce a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer with information about the role you’ve been offered in the UK
Paid a minimum salary, based on the type of work you do

Tier 2 General Visa

Tier 2 General Visa is now known as the Skilled Work Visa

The Tier 2 (General) route is a visa for migrants who have been offered a place to work in the UK by employers that have Sponsor Licence to recruit non-EEA migrants. It used to be the main immigration route for skilled workers to be sponsored to work in the UK.

But the UK Government recently announced some changes to the immigration rules to create a new category – Skilled Worker Route. This will open on December 1, 2020 for non-EEA nationals. The same will open on January 1, 2021 for EEA nationals.

Closure of Tier 2 categories

As a result, the Tier 2 (General) visa category will be closed for new applications starting December 1, 2020. The companies will now need to add a sponsor note to allow the existing Certificate of Sponsorship(CoS) to be issued for the Skilled Worker Visa to avail this category after December 1, 2020.

How does Skilled Worker Route work?

This is a points-based immigration system.

Skilled Workers now need a confirmed job offer at a required skill level 3 of the Regulated Qualifications
Framework and to meet the English language requirement.

There is also a minimum salary threshold which is £25,600 or the going rate for your job, whichever is higher.

If a candidate earns less than this but not less than £20,480, they may still be eligible to apply by trading points on specific criteria against the salary. This is applicable if the employment is in a shortage occupation or the application has a PhD in a related field or a STEM subject.

The general route for employers to recruit at minimum wage will no longer be available.

Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Visa

This visa has been replaced by the Intra-company Transfer visa.

You can apply for his visa, if you are being transferred by your company or employer to a role in the UK.

You will need to have worked for your employer overseas for more than 12 months, unless they are going to pay you £73,900 a year or more to work in the UK.

If you or your close family members started living in the UK before 1 January 2021, you may be able to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme. Otherwise, you require a visa to work in the UK.

Eligibility

To qualify for this visa, you need to:

Be an existing employee of an organisation that’s been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor
Have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer with information about the role you’ve been offered in the UK
Do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations
Be paid at least £41,500 for an Intra-company Transfer visa or at least £23,000 for an Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa

Specific eligibility criteria vary based on your job.

Youth Mobility Scheme visa (T5)

This visa has replaced the Tier 5 visa. You can apply for a Youth Mobility Scheme visa or T5 if you want to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years, are aged 18-30, have £2,530 in savings, have certain types of British Nationality or are from certain countries or territories and meet the other eligibility criteria. You can find out more about these criteria here.

The earliest you can apply for a visa is three months before you travel. You will typically get a decision within 3 weeks when you are applying from outside of the UK.

The application fees are £244 and you will also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of the application.

Here at Westend Consultants we have extensive experience of helping clients to make successful applications for UK Tier 5 visas. Contact us now on 020 3713 7052 if you need to speak to one of our professional advisors.