The UK's main work visa: a job offer from a licensed sponsor, in an eligible occupation, at the right salary. Three conditions — and most of the pain sits in checking them precisely. Here is what they actually mean, and how to see where your own file stands before paying anyone by the hour.
The Skilled Worker route ties your permission to a specific job with a specific employer: up to 5 years per grant, extendable, and — unlike the Graduate route — it can lead to settlement. Change employer and you need a new sponsorship; lose the job and the clock starts on finding a new sponsor.
The official rules live at gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa — everything below is a plain-English explanation of them, not advice about your case.
Not any employer — one on the Home Office's register of licensed sponsors. The register is public; whether a company is on it is a fact, not a judgment, and it is checked in seconds.
Your employer assigns you a CoS — an electronic record with a reference number describing the role and salary. You apply within 3 months of it being assigned.
The role must fall under an eligible occupation code (SOC code) at the required skill level. Whether a specific real-world job genuinely fits its code is one of the places where professional judgment matters most.
Your salary must meet both the general threshold — £41,700 for most roles at the time of writing — and the "going rate" for your occupation code. Health and care roles, PhD-relevant roles and new entrants have different, lower thresholds. The numbers change; gov.uk lists the current ones.
Met by a degree taught in English, an approved test, or nationality of a majority-English-speaking country — most Graduate-route switchers already meet it.
Thresholds are annual, basic-salary figures. "£3,600 a month plus bonus" is not an answer the rules accept at face value — how your package counts is exactly what needs a professional's eye.
Groups sponsor through specific legal entities. An offer from a subsidiary that is not the licensed entity is a real and common problem.
Without a job offer the route simply is not open yet — but knowing precisely what your file will need the day an offer lands is worth having before you negotiate one. Compass handles a prospective file as a first-class case.
Ten minutes of questions. Every checkable fact verified. A fixed price before you pay, and a signed professional assessment at the end.
Start your Skilled Worker file