Work Visas

Check the visa route before accepting a job or assigning sponsorship.

For workers with a UK job offer, and for employers deciding how to bring someone into a role.

Most work routes need a qualifying job, a licensed sponsor and a Certificate of Sponsorship. Some routes are unsponsored or are designed for particular kinds of work or talent.

Current routes

Skilled Worker.
Health and Care Worker. New overseas applications for care worker and senior care worker roles closed on 22 July 2025; transitional arrangements apply to some people already in the UK.
Dependants of sponsored workers.
Other routes, such as Global Talent, Scale-up, High Potential Individual, Global Business Mobility, Youth Mobility Scheme and UK Ancestry. Ask us whether your matter is one we can take on.

What we will check

We check the job, occupation code, skill level, salary against the requirement that applies to it, working hours, the sponsor's licence, the Certificate of Sponsorship, English language, maintenance, criminal-record certificates where required, and any switching restrictions.

Salary and skill requirements depend on the route, the occupation code, the going rate and any transitional provisions, and they change. We do not publish a single figure because none would be right for everyone.

A Certificate of Sponsorship is not a visa
A Certificate of Sponsorship is an electronic record that supports the application. It does not mean the application will be approved. The worker must still meet every requirement of the route, and the Home Office may check whether the role and the sponsorship are genuine.

How WLIS can help

1 We check that the route suits your plans and that the matter is a straightforward one within our IAA Level 1 authorisation.
2 We review your eligibility and your documents, and explain plainly anything that needs attention.
3 We give you a document checklist written for your circumstances rather than a generic one.
4 We prepare the application form and supporting documents, and you check and approve the final information before anything is submitted.
5 We help with submission, biometrics or identity steps, and your eVisa and UKVI account after the decision.

What we can and cannot help with

We provide advice and application assistance for straightforward immigration matters within our IAA Level 1 Immigration authorisation. Where a matter falls outside that authorisation — for example because it involves adverse immigration history, a discretionary or human-rights claim, an administrative review, an appeal or tribunal work — we will tell you and signpost or refer you to an adviser authorised at the appropriate level.

If an application is refused, we will explain the decision and whether any further work remains within our Level 1 authorisation. Where an administrative review, an appeal or other higher-level casework is needed, we will signpost or refer you to an appropriately authorised adviser. We do not provide appeal or tribunal representation.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) makes the final decision on every application. No immigration adviser can guarantee that an application will be approved.

Our IAA regulation How we work Fees

Questions clients often ask

Do I need a job offer before I can apply?

For most work routes, yes: you need a sponsoring employer with a licence and a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned to you. A few routes, such as Global Talent and the High Potential Individual route, do not need sponsorship but have their own qualifying criteria.

Does my salary meet the requirement?

There is no single figure to check against. The salary requirement is generally the higher of a general threshold and the going rate for the specific occupation code, and discounts, transitional provisions and route-specific rules can change both. We compare the offer against the code that genuinely fits the role.

Can my partner and children come with me?

Most sponsored work routes allow dependants. Each dependant makes their own application, pays their own fee and Immigration Health Surcharge where it applies, and their permission is tied to yours. Applying together is usually simpler than following on later.

Official sources we check

We check what we publish against the Home Office's own guidance. These are the GOV.UK pages behind the advice on this site — use them to confirm anything you read here, because the rules change and the official page is always the current one.

GOV.UK content is published by the UK government and is not part of this website.

Talk to us about work visas

Tell us what you want to apply for, the status you hold now and when your current permission ends. We will confirm whether the matter is within our Level 1 authorisation and offer a suitable appointment.

Start an enquiry See how we work

The enquiry form is on this site and reaches us directly. Please do not send identity documents until we ask for them.