You must have a suitable job offer from a licensed Skilled Worker sponsor.
Most students use the Skilled Worker visa if they wish to stay and work in the UK after they have finished their studies. Students applying from within the UK with a Student Visa are classed as 'new entrants'.
Students applying outside the UK whose last UK visa was a Student Visa and are within two years of the visa expiry date, are also classed as 'new entrants'.
For Student visa holders wishing to switch into the Skilled Worker route the requirements are:
- The employer must be licensed by the Home Office and issue you with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
- The job must qualify as a Skilled Worker role; the employer should know if this is the case.
- The minimum salary requirement will vary with each job, but new entrants must meet the '70% of going rate' requirement, or £30,960; whichever amount is higher (based on a 37.5 hour week).
- No financial evidence is required if you apply in the UK and have been studying here for at least 12 months. If this is not the case, you must have £1270 for at least 28 days in a bank account.
- If you have been financially sponsored, then the sponsor must provide a letter consenting to your visa application.
- You must have a Bachelors, Masters or PhD degree, or have completed the first year of a PhD. Postgraduate diplomas (unless a PGCE or PGDE teaching qualification) will not be accepted.
The UKVI has expanded the number of jobs eligible for Skilled Worker visas, to include lower level RQF 3 jobs (it used to include RQF 6 as the lowest level job).
There is no longer a restriction on the number of workers per employer.
Once you have submitted a Skilled Worker application, you can take a permanent full time job while waiting for the visa to be processed, unless your visa was issued before 1 October 2019.
Depending on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from your employer, you may apply for a visa for a period of three or five years. If you apply for a three year visa, you will have the option later to apply for a further three years, provided that you stay in employment.
After five years of continuous residence, you can apply to settle in the UK provided that your salary meets the requirements outlined in Appendix Skilled Worker (SW 24.3) (you'll usually need to be paid at least £25,600 per year unless the 'going rate' for your job is higher than this) and that your employer wants you to remain. Please find more details on the requirements of switching from Skilled Worker to settled status in the government guidance.
Please note that the University's Immigration Advice Service is not able to advise extensively on work visas, so questions should be directed to the HR (Human Resources) department of your potential employer. If you are applying for a job at the University of York, then please direct your visa related work queries to hr-compliance@york.ac.uk.
The information in Recruiting International Graduates 2024 (PDF
, 1,291kb) may be useful. It's aimed at employers, but it highlights some of the concessions made for new graduates switching into this category and looks at misconceptions employers may have. Make sure your prospective employer understands the rules, as applicable to you as a current visa holder switching in the UK.