Getting a UK work visa can be complicated. Your career, income, and family’s right to be in the UK depend on a process that is complex, often changing and unforgiving of errors. A mistake in the application process can mean a refusal and months of disruption to plans you have been building. A specialist Work Visa Solicitor can help with this.
At Reeds Solicitors, this is exactly where experienced legal advice can help. Our immigration solicitors’ team will take the time to properly understand your situation, tell you where you stand, and build an application that holds up. Whichever visa route suits you best, we will support you every step of the way.
Contact Reeds Solicitors today on 0333 240 7373 or email [email protected] to speak with a specialist that will help secure your future.
What a Work Visa Solicitor Can Help With
We advise on all major UK work visa routes. Our clients range from NHS nurses and university graduates to entrepreneurs and religious workers. Our work visa services include:
- Skilled Worker Visa: The most common route for overseas nationals to live and work in the UK. It requires a job offer from a Home Office-approved sponsor and must meet the applicable salary and sponsorship requirements under the Immigration Rules. Eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years.
- Global Talent Visa: This is for leaders and potential leaders in academia, research, the arts and digital technology. You can apply via endorsement from a designated body or directly if you hold an eligible prestigious award.
- Health and Care Worker Visa: This is for qualified healthcare and social care professionals with a job offer from the NHS or a CQC-regulated care provider. Holders and their dependants are exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge.
- High Potential Individual Visa: This is for recent graduates of top universities on the Home Office Global Universities List. It grants you two years in the UK (three for PhD holders) with freedom to work in almost any role or start your own business.
- Minister of Religion Visa: This is for ministers, pastors, priests, rabbis, imams, missionaries, nuns and members of religious orders. Requires sponsorship from a Home Office-registered religious organisation. Can lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years.
Support for Employers and Sponsors
Reeds Solicitors also advises UK employers on:
- Sponsor licence applications.
- Skilled Worker sponsorship.
- Sponsor compliance duties.
- Certificate of Sponsorship allocation.
- Right to work compliance.
- Home Office audits.
- Sponsor licence suspensions and revocations.
We support businesses ranging from SMEs to national organisations with practical immigration and compliance advice
UK Work Visa: The Risk of Getting it Wrong
A refusal to your UK work visa means you lose your application fee. It can also risk your right to stay in the UK, affect your job and impact any future applications.
Most refusals, though, are avoidable. They tend to happen when someone picks the wrong route, misses a document or applies with a salary that is below the threshold. The rules change frequently, too. The Home Office has changed many visa routes recently. Advice that was right a year ago might not be true now. Without someone who keeps on top of this, it is easy to walk into an application with the wrong information and pay a price you did not see coming.
Contact Reeds Solicitors today on 0333 240 7373 or email [email protected] to speak with a specialist that will help secure your future. For all other services, see our Immigration Law Services page here.
Contact:
[email protected]
How Reeds Solicitors Can Help
Getting the right support early makes a real difference.
We go through your situation properly before anything is submitted. That means identifying the right route, checking the eligibility criteria against your circumstances, and giving you an honest view of your position. If the route you had in mind is not the right one, we will say so and tell you what is.
At Reeds Solicitors, we do not tell clients what they want to hear. We tell them what they need to know, if there are any risks, what can be done about them and what a realistic outcome looks like.
We carefully review your Certificate of Sponsorship, salary evidence, English language evidence and financial documents before your application is submitted. . Every document is checked before your case goes near a caseworker.
Reeds Solicitors is an award-winning, leading multi-disciplinary law firm with 22 offices throughout England and Wales. We provide legal services nationally and frequently listed in the Legal 500 as a top Tier practice. We bring this experience and dedication to your UK work visa application
Frequently Asked Questions
A UK work visa is the legal permission that an overseas national needs to live and work in the UK. The Home Office runs a points-based system, so there is not one type of visa. There are in fact several, each designed for a different type of applicant. Some require a confirmed job offer and a sponsoring employer. Others, like the Global Talent Visa or the High Potential Individual Visa, do not. The right route comes down to your specific circumstances.
The best visa for UK work depends on your situation. The main things to consider are whether you have a confirmed job offer, your occupation and salary, your qualifications and whether your employer holds a sponsor licence. We go through all of this with you before recommending the best UK work visa route.
You lose your application fee, and on some routes a refusal can affect your right to stay and make future applications harder. There are avenues to challenge a decision, but it is rarely quick or simple. The far better position to be in is one where your application was properly prepared from the outset.
Partners and children under 18 can usually apply as dependants, and once here they can work and study. That said, the rules have tightened over recent years, and the requirements vary by your visa route. It is worth checking your specific situation carefully.
For most UK work visa holders, the threshold is five continuous years of lawful residence. At that point you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. This is the permanent right to live and work in the UK with no immigration conditions attached. You will need to meet the continuous residence requirement, pass the Life in the UK test, and demonstrate your English language ability. After ILR, British citizenship is the next step for those who want it.
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