To enable you to continue to work in the UK, the University has assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to you, and you can now apply for your visa. Please see the guidance below regarding the visa application process.
General guidance
No. The Tier 2 (General) visa route closed to new applicants on 1 December 2020, and was replaced with the Skilled Worker Visa route. All current Tier 2 visa holders can extend their leave under this new route and obtain a Skilled Worker Visa. Time already accrued on Tier 2 visas will still count toward the 5-year settlement requirement when combined with time spent on a Skilled Worker Visa.
You can apply for your visa up to 3 months before the work start date given on your CoS. If you are applying for an extension, this will be the day after your current visa expires.
This will depend on what kind of application you are making:
You may be able to expedite your visa application, at an additional cost. 'Value added' services may be available to select as part of the online application process.
Important to note
- In all cases, you must apply for your new visa before the earlier of (a) your current visa expiry date and (b) the CoS expiry date (see "Expiry date (use by)" on your CoS).
- Once you submit your visa application, you cannot leave the Common Travel Area (the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey) for any reason until the application is granted. If you do, your application will be automatically withdrawn by UK Visas and Immigration.
Please see below for further guidance on the visa application form.
Though the Team is permitted to provide immigration advice, they are not 'Immigration Advisors' for the purpose of a visa application form.
If you already have a Tier 2 or Skilled Worker visa, you do not need to meet this requirement, as you have done so in a previous application.
If you currently hold another visa type, please check our guidance (PDF download).
The question on the visa application form which asks "Are you using your PhD as part of this application?" once you have said you have a PhD which is relevant to your job relates to whether or not you need to rely on tradeable points for having a PhD in order to accrue the 70 points required for sponsorship.
Please check your CoS. If the last paragraph on page 2 is "Is PhD Level qualification required for post? N", then please answer No to this question. It means that either your salary is sufficient and you do not need tradeable points at all, or you are relying on another set of tradeable points, not those related to your PhD.
The University of Cambridge is an A-rated Premium Sponsor.
This is the University's sponsor licence number, and you will find it on your CoS under "Certificate of sponsorship status".
This relates to the 'financial requirement' aspect of Skilled Worker. Effectively, the UK government wants to make sure that you can support yourself, and your family if necessary, during the first month of your visa. The University is an A-rated sponsor, and therefore your recruiting department can agree that they will support you financially during that period if necessary. This is not a commitment to provide additional financial support or to pay you extra, just that it may be possible to pay you an advance of your salary in cases of extreme financial hardship.
If you have been in the UK for 12 months or more on any visa type, you do not need to meet the financial requirement.
If you are not exempt, please check the final entry on your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) which will confirm if the recruiting department has agreed to certify the financial/maintenance for you. If they have, then no further action is required.
If they have not, then you must ensure you have at least £1,270 in your bank account/savings to show you can support yourself in the UK. You will need to have had the money available for at least 28 days in a row. Day 28 must be within 31 days before you apply for the visa.
Family members applying for dependant visas
Please see the "Sponsor note" section of your CoS, which will confirm if the recruiting department does not certify the financial/maintenance for your dependants. If they do not, your family members must also have a certain amount of money available to support themselves while they’re in the UK.
You - or your partner or child - will need:
- £285 for your partner
- £315 for one child
- £200 for each additional child
Please contact your recruiting department before you submit your visa application if you cannot meet the financial/maintenance requirement.
No, not even if you have a clinical role. The University is not an approved UK health and care sector employer.
Please check the second page of your CoS, just above the "Summary of job description". The 4-digit number is your SOC code.
If it is, this will be mentioned on your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) as "Tick to confirm if the job is on the current Immigration Salary List: Y" (page 2 of the CoS). If this is not on your CoS, then your job is not on the Immigration Salary List.
Please check page 2 of your CoS, "Does the worker require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate for this role?".
The requirement for some international researchers to obtain ATAS clearance was introduced on 21 May 2021. Whether or not you need ATAS clearance will depend in your nationality, whether your job involves research and, if it does, in what field. Please see our guidance if you need further information.
The "period of approval" is the time between the start and end of your visa, once it is granted. it is our standard practice to answer yes to this question as it helps to show the Home Office that travel may be a part of your role but you are based in the UK and will return if and when you do travel overseas.
UK Visas and Immigration provide for an 8 week service standard for all online applications. The 8 weeks starts from the date you complete the ID checking process via the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app.
For applications made through the Priority and Super Priority services, you will receive your new Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) by post within 10 working days of your application being granted.
This will depend on the length of your visa. Please see gov.uk for up-to-date information on visa fees.
In addition to the visa fee, you will also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (see below).
The payment of the Immigration Health Surcharge (also known as the NHS surcharge) is mandatory for all non-UK nationals who are issued a visa. It is an additional charge, over and above the visa fee, and must be paid in full at the time of the visa application. Payment of the IHS will ensure that you have full access to the NHS on the same terms as a permanent UK resident.
Yes. The University operates an interest-free loan scheme for all current and prospective staff applying for a Skilled Worker Visa where their contract will be for 12 months or more. The scheme covers common costs associated with making such an application, including the cost of visas for dependants.
You will find links to a loan application form and a guidance document in the email which contains your CoS.
After you submit your application online, UK Visas and Immigration will tell you which documents you need to submit.
You are no longer required to attend a biometric appointment to conclude your application or submit documentation. This has been replaced by the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app process.
As you submitted your visa application in the UK, you must not leave the Common Travel Area (the UK, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) for any reason until the application is granted. If you do, your application will be automatically withdrawn by UK Visas and Immigration. The Home Office makes it clear that applicants are advised not to make arrangements to travel before they have a decision on their application and, if they do so, it is at their own risk.
You can find details of what you can and cannot do as a Skilled Worker Visa holder on the gov.uk website.
You are permitted to undertake other work (known as 'supplementary work') in limited circumstances. Please see our guidance for conditions.
You must notify your recruiting department immediately if your visa is refused.
Further guidance
As you are making a Skilled Worker Visa application from inside the UK, the type of application you make will be classed as either a Switch, Extension or Change of Employment application.
Please select the appropriate option below to see further guidance which applies to the type of application you are making:
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Switching from a different visa route
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Extending an existing Tier 2 (General) or Skilled Worker visa
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Change of Employment, if you are (a) employed by a different sponsor and coming to work at the University, or (b) already employed by the University and moving into a different type of job
When/how do I become eligible for Settlement in the UK?
After you have spent five years in the UK holding a combination of Tier 2 and/or Skilled Worker Visas, you are eligible to apply for Settlement (also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain). If you are successful in gaining settlement, you are no longer subject to visa restrictions in the UK and you will have the unlimited right to work.
In order to become eligible after the minimum five-year period, you need to be aware of the following criteria:
- You should not have more than 180 days’ absence outside the UK in any 12-month rolling period across the five years holding Skilled Worker Visas.
- The above includes all personal and business-related travel. However, absences in excess of 180 days will be waived where you are in an academic or research role and the absences were for ‘research purposes’. If your total absences are fewer than 180 days, you do not need to be concerned about whether they can be waived.
- You can download guidance on the ILR process from our Indefinite Leave to Remain/settlement webpage.