Apply for a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK

If you are a non-UK/Irish national and have been made a job offer from the University, you may need to apply for a visa to work in the UK.  Where you have no ties to the UK through prior residence, family or ancestral links, it is likely that this will mean the Skilled Work visa.

A Skilled Work visa grants you time limited rights to work in the UK, after which you may be able to apply to settle permanently in the UK.

The University of Dundee is an A-rated sponsor licence holder for the Skilled Worker category which covers skilled workers with a job offer.

(If you are a recruitment manager,  view our advice for managers page.)

If sponsorship is required for visa purposes, the University will issue a Certificate of Sponsorship to an applicant with a job offer when satisfied that there has been strict adherence to the sponsorship duties detailed by the Home Office UK Visas and Immigration.

Once you have received your sponsorship details from the People Support team, you then need to apply under the Sponsored Skilled Workers category of the UK Points Based System to apply for either:

1. Entry Clearance - permission to enter the United Kingdom or,
2. Permission to stay - if you are already in the UK with permission to stay in an immigration category that allows you to switch into the sponsored skilled worker category or,
3. Visa extension - if you are already in the UK as a sponsored skilled worker and want to extend your permission to stay within your existing category.

Further information on these requirements can be found on the UK Visas and Immigration website. If the appointee is outside the UK, the University must apply for a Defined Certificate of Sponsorship (previously called Restricted Certificate of Sponsorship).

It is your (the appointee's) responsibility to obtain Entry Clearance or permission to stay as applicable.

Duties the University has as Skilled Worker visa sponsor

As a sponsor the University has a number of duties these include:

1. Keeping copies of your passport, UK immigration status documents, and contact details (address, telephone number, mobile telephone number). Your contact details must also be kept up to date.
2. Reporting duties, which include reporting to UKVI if:
   • you do not turn up for your first day of work
   • you are absent from work for more than 10 consecutive working days, without the University’s reasonably granted permission
   • your employment (including if you resign or are dismissed) or any registration you need to work in the UK (such as with a governing body) ends
   • the University stops sponsoring you for any other reason (for example, if you switch into an immigration route that does not require a sponsor)
   • there are any significant changes in your employment circumstances, for example, a change of job, a reduction in your hours of work or salary, or a change in the location where you are working
   • the University has information which suggests you are breaching the conditions of your leave.
3. providing the police with any information held, which suggests that you may be engaging in terrorism or other criminal activity.

You must give the University all the information required to allow it to fulfil its duties as a sponsor under the UKVI system.

Requirements for a Skilled Worker visa

To qualify for a Skilled Worker visa, you need to score a minimum of 70 points from the following attributes:

• Offer of a job by an approved sponsor - 20 points
• Job offer at an appropriate skill level (RQF level 3 and above) supported by a Certificate of Sponsorship - 20 points
• English Language at Level B1 - 10 points
• Minimum Salary requirements met - 20 points

You also need to meet the following requirements:

Finance/maintenance

For Skilled Worker Visa applicants, the University will certify that, should it become necessary, we will maintain and accommodate.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

Relevant international researchers applying for a Skilled Worker visa must have obtained an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate as part of their visa application. The ATAS requirement only applies to certain nationalities, and in certain roles and research fields. The People Support team will advise if this applies and can provide guidance as necessary.

As part of the ATAS application process, the individual will be required to submit information about their programme of research including the relevant 'CAH3' code.

Further guidance on the ATAS scheme / making an application (GOV.UK)

Genuine Vacancy

The Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT), which existed under the Tier 2 route, has now been abolished, however there remains a requirement for the University to prove that any given sponsored role is a genuine vacancy.

Issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship

If the appointee requires sponsorship for visa purposes,  the People Support team will  liaise with them, as necessary, to issue the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) on behalf of the University.

The contract of employment will be prepared and issued clearly stipulating that the appointment is dependent upon the University being able to employ the individual without breaching UK immigration or other legislation. Under its sponsorship duties, the University is obliged to vet all new members of staff's identification and immigration status (if applicable) prior to the start of their employment. A right to work check will be arranged with the new staff member before their first day of work. 

Information required from appointee

The People Support team will contact the appointee directly to obtain the necessary information required of them for the Certificate of Sponsorship and will refer to the post file for all other details and as advised by the Recruiting Manager.

Once CoS is issued

On receipt of the Certificate of Sponsorship number, a member of the People Support team will email the appointee advising them of the action they must now take. The action required differs depending upon whether the individual is already in the UK or in another country.

Further information on these requirements can be found on the UK Visas and immigration website if the appointee is applying from outside the United Kingdom.

It is the appointee's responsibility to obtain this Entry Clearance or permission to stay as applicable. The University of Dundee does not meet the cost of applying for Entry Clearance/permission to stay, however, individuals may be eligible to make a claim for reimbursement of some visa related costs once their employment has commenced.  Please refer to the Costs and Relocation section below for further information

Spouses and dependants

Your dependants can apply at the same time as you to enter the UK. Alternatively, they can wait until you have entered the UK and started work before they apply. 

Skilled Worker visa: Your partner and children (GOV.UK)

The spouse of a sponsored Skilled Worker is allowed to undertake paid employment. They may only be employed while their spouse holds a valid visa and is residing and working within the UK.

Timeframes

Applications from outside the UK

This will vary depending on the country in which you submit your visa application. See Visa processing times (GOV.UK).

Certain countries provide enhanced services which will expedite the visa application. For details on which services are available, including the processing times and the cost, see: https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/global/index.html

Applications from inside the UK

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) provide for an eight week service standard for all online applications.  

UKVI start processing your application once you either:

• verify your identity and submit your documents and application using the UK Immigration: ID Check app. They will tell you if you can use this service.
• attend your appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service (UKVCAS) centre or a Service and Support Centre (SSC) to provide your fingerprints and a photograph (biometric information)

For applications made through the Priority and Premium services, a decision is usually communicated within 5 working days, or 30 working days for Family visa applications from outside the UK.

Using the ‘super priority service’ for visa and settlement applications means you’ll usually get a decision by the end of the next working day.

It can take longer to get a decision, for example, if the Home Office needs to ask you for more information or check your details with other government departments. You’ll be told if this is the case

Visa refusal

UKVI will write to the individual detailing the reasons why their application for further Permission to stay or Entry Clearance has not been granted. The refusal letter will explain if the individual as the right to either an:

• administrative review
• immigration decision appeal

When advised of a visa refusal a member of the People Support team will then liaise with the Recruiting Manager to decide the best way to proceed.

Request an extension to a Certificate of Sponsorship

The People Support team will contact departments approximately four months before the expiry date of the individual's work permit to establish if further sponsorship is required to enable the individual to apply to extend their permission to stay.

This sometimes coincides with the expiry of the individual's fixed term contract.  In such circumstances, an extension to a Certificate of Sponsorship will only be sought, if the individual's contract is being renewed.

For Skilled Worker extensions, individuals must bear in mind that they typically cannot apply for a new visa more than three months before their current visa expires.

Issuing an extension

In most circumstances, to be considered for an extension, applicants must be continuing to work in the same or a similar job. 

The procedure is similar to that of the initial issue of a Certificate of Sponsorship. The People Support team will issue the Certificate once satisfied that we have met our sponsor obligations and in doing so will contact the individual to confirm personal details and the Recruiting Manager, to confirm the reasons as to why a further Certificate of Sponsorship is required

On receipt of the Certificate of Sponsorship number, a member of the People Support team will email the employee advising them of the action they must now take.

Applying to extend permission to stay in the UK

Further information on this requirement can be found on the UK Visas and Immigration website.

It remains the individual's responsibility to obtain permission for extended permission to stay.

Once your visa is granted

EU/EEA/Swiss nationals

Your visa status will be granted as a ‘digital status’ eVisa, linked to your passport, which will facilitate your entry into the UK.

You can view your status, and share it with the department, via the link here: https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status 

Non-EEA nationals

If your application is granted, the visa you initially receive inside your passport will be valid for 90 days This is known as an entry vignette and will facilitate your entry into the UK. You must enter the UK within the entry window of the vignette or you may have to leave the country to re-enter or re-apply for your visa.

Within ten days of your arrival in the UK, you are required to collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) from a UK Post Office. The BRP will state the full length of leave you have been granted and will supersede the entry vignette.

Full details of how you arrange collection of your BRP will be provided to you by UKVI at the point your application is approved. For further guidance, please see the UKVI webpages.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are in the process of moving all applicants to the new digital immigration system and are replacing physical documents with an online record of an individual’s immigration status (eVisa).  

The documents being replaced are:

• biometric residence permits (BRP)
• biometric residence cards (BRC)
• passport endorsements, such as indefinite leave to enter wet ink stamps
• vignette stickers in passports, such as entry clearance or visa vignettes

It is anticipated that the changeover will be complete by 2025.  Further information on this can be found on the UKVI webpages.

Applying under the Global Talent Route

You may be eligible to apply for a Global Talent visa to work in the UK if you're a leader or potential leader in one of the following fields: 

• academia or research
• arts and culture
• digital technology

The Global Talent visa route does not require sponsorship.

There are four pathways to obtaining endorsement for a Global Talent visa in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, the social sciences, and the humanities. The decision tree on the Royal Society website will help you identify which route may be most appropriate

The People Support team can provide further guidance on this route, if required.

Costs and relocation

The University will reimburse the costs associated with meeting immigration requirements where an employee requires a visa to live in the UK and work for the University. This includes the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Read our policy on reimbursement of immigration costs

Relocation expenses

The University provides relocation expenses as per our relocation policy, full details are available on our relocation expenses webpage.