Business immigration – a guide for employers

Introduction

The main business immigration scheme enabling businesses to employ overseas nationals to work in the UK is the Points-Based System. Under this system, overseas nationals can work in the UK under a range of routes, the most appropriate of which will depend on the type of work to be undertaken, and often the skills and qualifications required for the role.

Following the government’s “White Paper – Restoring Control over the Immigration System”, which was issued in May 2025, significant changes to the UK’s immigration system have taken effect, in particular in relation to the Skilled Worker route, which we look at below.

In this guide, we provide a summary of the key issues for employers to consider when recruiting overseas nationals under the Points-Based System.

Our business immigration team advises both UK employers and overseas businesses on the immigration and employment aspects of recruiting and employing overseas nationals in the UK. For support or advice on any business immigration query, please do get in touch with our Business Immigration team.

The Points-Based System (PBS)

Since 1 January 2021, everyone (except for UK and Ireland nationals) has required immigration permission if they want to work in the UK. The majority of nationals from outside the UK and Ireland looking to work in the UK will need to obtain a visa under the PBS.

The business immigration routes under the PBS include:

• Skilled Worker – for individuals in skilled roles sponsored by a UK employer. See more details below.
• Global Business Mobility (Senior or Specialist Worker) – for overseas employees moving to a linked UK entity. See more details below.
• Global Business Mobility (Graduate Trainee) – for overseas workers who are on a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position and are required to do a work placement in the UK.
• Global Business Mobility (UK Expansion Worker) – for senior managers or specialist employees who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK related to a business’s expansion to the UK. This route replaced the previous Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa.
• Global Business Mobility (Service Supplier) – for contractual service suppliers employed by an overseas service provider and self-employed independent professionals based overseas, who need to undertake an assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade agreements.
• Global Business Mobility (Secondment Worker) – for employees of overseas businesses seconded to a UK sponsor, where the overseas organisation holds a high-value contract (worth at least £50 million) with the UK sponsor which is registered with the Home Office.
• Global Talent – for leading individuals in academia/research, the arts, design and digital technology, who have been endorsed by a Home Office-approved body or who hold an eligible prestigious award.
• Start Up – for entrepreneurs who have been endorsed by a Home Office-approved body to set up a business in the UK.
• Innovator – for individuals who have been endorsed by a Home Office-approved body to set up an innovative new business in the UK, which is different from anything else on the market.
• Scale-Up – for individuals with a skilled job offer from a “qualifying UK scale-up” (broadly speaking, a fast growing business that holds a sponsor licence and meets certain criteria).

We can provide advice on all the routes listed above, but this guide focuses on the most common routes used by businesses to employ overseas nationals in the UK – the Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility (Senior or Specialist Worker) routes.

Skilled Worker

This route is available to skilled migrants with a job offer from a UK employer which holds an appropriate sponsor licence (see below). Critically, employers must only sponsor migrant workers where the “eligible role” test has been met (and continues to be met throughout sponsorship), and must keep documents to show that this is the case.

In accordance with the “eligible role” test, in order to qualify for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route, the role must:

• exist or reasonably be anticipated to exist at the point of sponsorship;
• meet all the route-specific requirements (see below);
• require the job holder to perform the specific duties and hours set out on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS);
• be appropriate to the business in light of its business model and scale; and
• be required for the business throughout the life of the sponsorship.

In order to meet the specific requirements under the Skilled Worker route, the role must:

• be in an eligible occupation (as set out in the ‘Appendix Skilled Occupations’ of the Immigration Rules);
• meet certain minimum salary requirements (in most cases, this will be £41,700, or the ‘going rate’ for that particular role or the hourly rate (currently £17.13), whichever is higher); and
• be sufficiently skilled (in most cases, this will be at or above “RQF Level 6”, which is at or above degree level or equivalent).

There are transitional rules in place for both salary (in relation to those sponsored under the Skilled Worker route pre-4 April 2025) and skill (in relation to those sponsored under the Skilled Worker route pre-22 July 2025). There are also various salary discounts available, including for new entrants, and skill and/or salary reductions may be available where a role appears on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List.

In addition to the role requirements, applicants under the Skilled Worker route must meet minimum English language requirements and, unless they have been in the UK for over 12 months at the point they make their application, hold a prescribed level of funds (although employers can choose to underwrite this financial requirement).

There can be significant costs associated with Skilled Worker visas and these costs (together with the visa processing times) need to be factored into recruitment processes. Certain costs, including the Certificate of Sponsorship fee and the Immigration Skills Charge must be paid by the sponsor and cannot be passed onto the Skilled Worker.

A Skilled Worker visa can be issued for an initial period of up to five years but, provided the individual continues to meet the eligibility requirements, they can apply to extend their visa as many times as they like. This route also allows the individual to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (i.e. the permanent right to live and work in the UK without restriction), provided various criteria have been met, including a continuous residence requirement.

Global Business Mobility (Senior or Specialist Worker)

The Global Business Mobility (Senior or Specialist Worker) route allows a UK company (holding an appropriate sponsor licence) to employ an overseas national from an overseas group company. The role must be sufficiently skilled (again, usually at “RQF Level 6”) and must meet minimum salary requirements (usually £52,500 or above or the going rate for the role, whichever is higher). Importantly, there is no requirement for the employee to meet any English language requirements.

Global Business Mobility staff can stay in the UK for a total period of up to five years in any six year period (or nine years in any ten year period if they are a ‘higher earner’ (earning over £73,900 per year)). This route does not lead to settlement in the UK and time spent in the UK under this route does not count towards the qualifying period of continuous residence needed to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Sponsorship

Migrants who are working under the Skilled Worker or any of the Global Business Mobility routes must be sponsored by a UK employer. In order to sponsor an employee, the employer must hold a sponsor licence, which involves making an application to the Home Office. It typically takes around eight weeks for the Home Office to process the application, although a priority processing service is available.

There are a number of requirements to become a sponsor and the Home Office may arrange a compliance visit either before or after the sponsor licence is granted to ensure that the sponsor licence is genuinely required and that the business understands and is able to comply with the duties that come with it (see below).

Sponsor duties

Employers with a sponsor licence must comply with a number of duties as a condition of their licence. These sponsor duties include (amongst others):

• reporting various matters to the Home Office within a prescribed time frame (such as absences or changes in the sponsored employee’s or the employer’s circumstances); and
• record-keeping (including retaining copies of passports, contact details, adverts and recruitment documentation).

The Home Office monitors compliance on an ongoing basis and it may undertake a compliance visit at any time to ensure the business is complying with its duties. Visits can be impromptu or pre-arranged. Sponsors will be required to show that they have systems in place to prevent illegal working and to comply with their sponsor duties, including that they continue to meet the requirements under the “eligible role” test. Information about sponsored employees will also need to be readily available for inspection by the Home Office.

Failure to comply with sponsor duties can lead to severe penalties, including revocation of the sponsor licence, which would result in all sponsored individuals having their leave cancelled, which would require them to leave the UK if they cannot find a new sponsor within a specified period.

Preventing illegal working and right to work checks

All UK employers (whether sponsors or not) are required to prevent the employment of illegal workers by conducting a “right to work check” on all employees before the start of their employment. If an employer is found to have employed an illegal worker and has not conducted right to work checks, they risk a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker and potentially criminal sanctions in certain circumstances.

Employers need to make sure that they have systems in place to conduct and record right to work checks in a legally compliant way, and that they avoid any discriminatory treatment of individuals in how these checks are carried out.

Sponsors have additional right to work obligations and are required to carry out right to work checks on any workers they wish to sponsor, employ or directly engage.

The obligations on all organisations (not just sponsors) to prevent illegal working, are set to be expanded in the near future and so it is important to stay on top of the latest position. If we can support you in understanding your obligations to prevent illegal working, please do get in touch with our Business Immigration team.

Other commonly used routes

There are a range of other immigration routes available for overseas nationals outside the PBS, including:

Visitors and ETAs

Non-UK and Irish nationals wishing to come to the UK for short periods are usually either on a standard visitor visa or enter with an Electronic Travel Authorisation. Whether to apply for a standard visitor visa or an ETA (neither of which is required where the individual already has permission to live, work or study in the UK) depends on the individual’s nationality.

Although standard visitors and those on ETAs cannot undertake paid employment in the UK, they are allowed to do some very limited activities which relate to their normal (overseas) employment. These are known as “permitted business activities”. Examples of permitted business activities for visitors include attending meetings, conferences and interviews, gathering information for employment overseas or being briefed on the requirements of a UK-based customer (provided that any work for the customer is performed outside of the UK). Employers should be aware that the list of permitted business activities is limited and neither the standard visitor route nor an ETA is suitable for individuals who will be carrying out any employment-related activities beyond the limited permitted business activities.

Youth mobility scheme

Subject to meeting certain eligibility criteria, individuals aged 18-30 from certain specified countries and territories may qualify for a visa, which permits them to work, for up to 2 or 3 years under the Youth Mobility Scheme. Time spent in the UK under this route does not count towards the qualifying period needed to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Graduate

Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria, individuals who have graduated from a UK university can stay in the UK for 18 months to 3 years (depending on when they apply and whether they studied at PhD level or below). There are no restrictions on the type of work that graduates can do under this type of visa and it does not require sponsorship.

High Potential Individual

Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria, individuals who have graduated from specified top global universities within the last 5 years can obtain a visa for either 2 or 3 years (depending on whether they studied at PhD level or below), which allows them to carry out any type of work.

We advise many of the UK’s best-known employers, as well as overseas businesses, on the immigration and employment aspects of recruiting and employing overseas nationals in the UK. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Huw Cooke or Megan Summers (both Senior Associates in our Business Immigration team).

Disclaimer: This guide gives general information only and is not intended to be an exhaustive statement of the law. Although we have taken care over the information, you should not rely on it as legal advice. We do not accept any liability to anyone who does rely on its content.