Sponsoring Skilled Workers

The University is licenced to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) which demonstrates that the individual has a firm offer of appropriate employment, which contributes points to their score. As such it supports an individual’s Skilled Worker visa application (but does not guarantee its approval, and does not give the migrant the right to work in the UK).

The CoS is not a paper certificate or document, but a virtual document with a reference number, issued by UKVI and provided to the individual via the People Directorate.

To obtain a CoS:

• The University must demonstrate that it has a genuine vacancy. PD Operations will support you in this right from the start of the recruitment process.
• The University pledges to accept all of the legal duties expected when sponsoring the migrant. PD Operations will inform you of your obligations as a line manager when the sponsored worker is appointed.

A Skilled Worker must have a job offer in an eligible skilled occupation and at an appropriate skill level (RQF3 - A-level/Higher equivalent or above). A Skilled Worker must be proficient in English and be paid the general salary threshold of £25,600 per year or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher. If the individual earns less than £25,600 - but no less than £20,480 - they may still be able to apply by ‘trading’ points on specific characteristics, such as a relevant PhD qualification, especially if in a STEM subject, a job in a shortage occupation or ‘new entrant’ criteria, against their salary.

New entrants include:

• those under the age of 26 on the date of application;
• those switching from a Student, Graduate or Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visas or those who have held a student visa in the last two years before the apply;
• and those working toward recognised professional qualification or moving directly into postdoctoral positions.

NB. Granting the application must not mean the applicant’s combined permission as a Skilled Worker and/or Tier 2 Migrant would be more than 4 years in total, whether or not the permission is for a continuous period.

The English language requirement can be met by meeting one of the options below:

• Nationals from the following English speaking countries automatically meet the English language requirement: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the US
• a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provide
• having a GCSE, A level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English
• having a degree-level academic qualification that was taught in English - if an applicant studied abroad, they will need to apply for confirmation through UK ENIC (formerly UK NARIC) that their qualification is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD.

In majority cases, the University has been able to sponsor academic and research workers (Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Readers, Researchers). Some professional services roles, such as IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, are included in the Shortage Occupation List. Although Librarians, HR Officers, Nursery Assistants roles are listed in the ‘Eligible occupation codes’ table, roles like Admissions Officers and Library Assistants are not eligible for the Skilled Worker route. Therefore, each individual case of appointing migrants should be discussed with PD Operations before any definite decision is made. Detailed guidelines for recruiting managers can be found on our website.

The Home Office interactive Skilled Worker Eligibility Checker (SWEC) tool is intended to enable applicants and recruiting managers to immediately see if vacancies are eligible for a Skilled Worker visa. The tool can be found on Gov.UK - see Check if you may be eligible for a Skilled Worker visa.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS), run by the UK government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), is designed to prevent the transfer of information and the spread of knowledge or technology that could be used in programmes to develop Advanced Conventional Military Technology (ACMT), weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) or their means of delivery.

With effect from 21 May 2021 any international person who will be undertaking research activities in the UK that could possibly result in the Intangible Transfer of Technology (ITT) to WMD and ACMT programmes of concern, at PhD level or above (NB. this means Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Researchers, Postdoctoral Research Assistants), in one of the Academic Subjects/Fields of Research relevant to ATAS will be required to apply for government clearance by obtaining a free of charge ATAS certificate before they can apply for a Skilled Worker visa to start or continue working in the UK. If they do not include an ATAS certificate with their application, it may be rejected/refused.

Sensitive Academic Subjects include Mathematical and Computer Science, Biological Sciences, Engineering, Physical Sciences, Veterinary Sciences, Agriculture and related subjects, Technologies, Medicine. There is also a quick assessor to see if ATAS is required or not here.

Exemptions exist for nationals from the UK/Ireland, EEA, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and USA and those applying for other visa types e.g. Global Talent Visas.

PD Operations must confirm on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) whether or not the ATAS requirement applies, and therefore the team will liaise closely with the recruiting managers to obtain answers to specific questions to establish if ATAS is required. Where an ATAS certificate is required, the recruiting department will also need to provide a short research statement summarising the research activities the individual will undertake. The individual will need to submit this information when they apply for their ATAS certificate.

It is recommended that individuals submitting an initial or extension visa application apply for their ATAS certificate as early as possible. Individuals can apply for an ATAS certificate in advance and certificates will be valid for 6 months. Applications will normally be processed within 10 working days, up to 15 working days between April and September 2021.

Applicants will need to obtain the ATAS certificate prior to the CoS being issued. An applicant who should obtain ATAS and fails to do so could result in their visa application being refused, and could lead to the University’s sponsor licenses being revoked.

There is no limit on the length of time which can be spent under the Skilled Worker route. If the visa is issued for a fixed period further extensions might be possible. One month prior to the end of a visa, an individual receives an automated email from PD Operations reminding them about that. If an extension for a current member of staff is required, you should contact PD Operations, pdteam-operations@brookes.ac.uk, as soon as possible to discuss, however please note that a CoS extension cannot be processed more than 3 months before an individual’s Skilled Worker visa is due to expire.

If individuals are on a Skilled Worker visa and have been legally resident in the UK for five continuous years you may apply for indefinite leave to remain or “settlement”. This does not change their nationality; they will remain a citizen of their country of origin. UKVI provide guidance and a useful assessment tool on their website.

• The cost for assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship will come directly from the recruiting Faculty or Directorate budget. A Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship cost can be found on Gov.UK. Payment is made in the People Directorate.
• The individual pays for their Skilled Worker Visa. International staff who are not currently resident in the UK at time of relocation may apply to the Dean of Faculty or Director for up to £3,000 for immigration visa fees for themselves or immediate family members (spouse/ partner and children only). This additional cost will be charged to the Faculty and Directorate and payment is at the discretion of the PVC/Dean or Director. For more information see the University’s Relocation Scheme.
• The individual pays for all NHS Health surcharges required during the visa application process, and for their dependants’ health surcharges.
• The University will certify maintenance for Skilled Worker visa applicants and their dependants.
• Faculties and directorates may meet the cost of Skilled Worker visa renewals and applications for Settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) for existing staff and their dependants, where their skills and expertise are judged to be essential and/or not easily replaced. The Financial assistance to staff for immigration costs policy can be found on our website.

The process to hire a sponsored worker can be lengthy, given the time it takes to complete shortlisting and interviews, and the time it takes for an individual’s visa application to be considered by the Home Office. This is usually 3 weeks. Any delay in verifying the English language requirement (such as the applicant needing to sit an English language test or have qualifications verified by UK ENIC) will delay the visa application.

A realistic start date should be considered taking these steps into account.

NB: The university cannot guarantee that any valid Certificate of Sponsorship application will result in the allocation of a Skilled Worker. You should never reject, or be seen to reject, any candidate (or potential candidate) on the grounds that they do not hold the right to work in the UK. It is recommended that right to work, or absence thereof, is considered as late in the selection process as possible for the following reasons:

• This could amount to indirect discrimination on the grounds of national origin;
• Those currently without right to work may be able to obtain it through another immigration route; and
• It is not a foregone conclusion that those with the right to work will be successful in all the intermediate stages in the recruitment process.

Consideration should also be given to whether sponsorship is feasible for roles that have fixed start and end dates (for example, as a condition of funding).

UKVI must be notified of a range of activities in relation to the sponsored worker. When the individual is appointed, you will receive an email from PD Operations detailing your obligations which are also outlined on the Line manager responsibilities page.

If a redeployee or internal candidate holds a Skilled Worker visa they can only be appointed into a job within the same occupation group. This offers some very limited latitude. For example a research associate can be appointed to another related project but they could not be appointed to a lecturer role.

There is Home Office guidance on taking a second job. Any member of staff working under a Skilled Worker visa is strongly encouraged to discuss the possibility of taking secondary employment with the People Directorate first, to ascertain if this is permissible.

Less commonly, prospective staff can apply for a Global Talent visa, but the individual makes this application personally without being sponsored by the University.

Student visa covers international students, sponsored by the University to support their visa application to study in the UK. Their visa may allow them to work in the UK with restrictions. However their applications are processed by the University’s International Student Advice Team.

The University can also issue Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) under the Temporary Worker - Government Authorised Exchange (T5) category for sponsored researchers. Contact PD Operations (pdteam-operations@brookes.ac.uk) for further information.

To be eligible for the Skilled Worker route the role must feature on the Government’s list of eligible occupations under the Immigration Rules.   The occupation codes are designed to cover all possible jobs eligible for sponsorship. Each role is assigned a four-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code.  The list also specifies the ‘going rate‘ for each role and minimum salary requirements for ‘new entrants’ and other workers.  If the occupation code sets out a higher “going rate” salary than the relevant absolute minimum threshold, this is the salary that must be paid.

When choosing an occupation code (SOC code), Oxford Brookes must find the closest match to the job being offered and use the correct code relevant to the role. If the occupation code selected is not on the list, it is ineligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.

Does the worker benefit from ‘tradeable points’?

A total of 70 points is needed to be able to apply to work in the UK.  Applicants under the Skilled Worker route, require 50 mandatory points for meeting the sponsorship, skill level and English language requirements in order to be eligible for permission to enter or stay in the UK and then the remaining 20 points are tradeable, a table of the tradeable points can be found on the Government webpage.

The minimum salary a Skilled Worker needs to be paid for their role will differ depending on the applicant’s circumstances and the role itself making it difficult to indicate on adverts whether it will be possible to get a Certificate of Sponsorship for a particular role as the individual circumstances may affect whether this is possible. 

Generally, an applicant’s salary will need to equal or exceed all of the following:

• £38,700 per year from April 2024 the base rate or the going rate whichever is higher

• the going rate for the occupation code.

New entrant minimum salary requirement

Qualifying new entrants could receive a 30% discount to the salary threshold from 4th April 2024.  New entrants are however limited to a three-year period of leave. After this period, they must make a further application if they wish to remain in the UK. If continuing under the Skilled Worker route, they would no longer be a ‘new entrant’.