If you are an overseas national who is not settled in the UK and you intend to work in the UK, you must have a work permit unless you are:

• an EEA national
• a Swiss national
• a family member of an EEA or Swiss national who is in the UK exercising their treaty rights or a family member of an EEA or Swiss national who intends to join them in the UK, or is travelling with them to the UK
• a citizen of Gibraltar
• a Commonwealth citizen with permission to stay in the UK on the basis of UK Ancestry
• a seaman under contract to join a ship due to leave British waters
• a person employed as a civilian in NATO Forces
• a person given permission to stay as the dependant of a person settled in the UK
• a dependant under another category (in some cases), or
• a student (in some cases)

Currently, there are three broad categories of work visas (Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 5) in the UK, which will be explained below. To find out more about individual visas, please click and go to the relevant pages.

Tier 1

This type of visa are for migrants with highly professional skills. You need to have a university degree, as well as earning a certain minimum salary in your current job as well as demonstrating a strong command of the English language as well as sufficient maintenance funds. This visa used to be called the High Skilled Migrant Programme. It is assessed on a points based system, and can be applied for within the UK or at any the UK embassies and consulates worldwide.

This visa, once obtained, gives the holder unrestricted travel to the UK as well as unrestricted right to work in the UK, but no recourse to public funds and is limited in duration (normally 3 years), which is renewal subject to the applicant meeting all the renewal criteria. You do not need to have an offer of employment before applying for this visa.

Tier 2

This visa is for migrants who have already received an offer letter of employment from a company in the UK, and therefore is applying for this visa with sponsorship from the company. However, the company usually has to demonstrate that it is unable to find anyone within the UK or EU that meets the skills required for the job; a process which many companies in the UK are reluctant to take as it prolongs their recruitment process.

This visa is automatically renewed and extended as long as you are still employed by the company that has sponsored your Tier 2 visa. If you resign or are made redundant, your Tier 2 visa will be revoked and cannot be used to obtain another job.

Tier 5

This visa category are for temporary workers in the UK. It is for two sets of people; those on a Youth Mobility Scheme, who are coming to the UK as a Working Holidaymaker from a Commonwealth country, or on the Au Pair program. It is also for temporary workers who do not qualify for the Tier 2 visa, including creative, sports, volunteer, religious, and exchange workers.