A UK Skilled Worker visa for an Indian applicant starts with the employer, not the worker. The employer must hold a sponsor licence, assign a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) for a job at graduate level paying at least £41,700 or the going rate for the occupation, and pay the Immigration Skills Charge. The worker then proves English at CEFR B2, pays £819 for a visa of up to three years (£1,618 for longer) plus the £1,035-a-year immigration health surcharge, and gives biometrics at VFS Global. Decisions from India take about three weeks.
The compact version with the price card, checklist and refusal cases is on the UK Skilled Worker route page. This article explains the rules behind each line and what changed in 2025 and 2026.
What changed for the UK Skilled Worker visa, and when?
Three changes shape every 2026 application. From 22 July 2025 new Skilled Worker jobs must be at RQF level 6, graduate level, unless the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List; the medium-skilled jobs that opened in 2021 closed to new entrants. The general salary threshold is £41,700, with the going rate for the occupation code applying where it is higher. From 8 January 2026 the English requirement rose from B1 to B2 for new applications; people already on the route extend at B1. Care workers and senior care workers sponsored since 11 March 2024 cannot bring dependants, and the care routes closed to new overseas recruitment in 2025.
The employer's side: licence, CoS and charges
| Item | GBP | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor licence (medium or large) | 1,682 | About 8 weeks; priority £500 for 10 working days |
| Sponsor licence (small or charity) | 611 | Small = two of: turnover ≤ £15m, assets ≤ £7.5m, ≤ 50 staff |
| Certificate of sponsorship | 525 | Defined CoS for a worker outside the UK, usually granted within a working day |
| Immigration Skills Charge | 1,320 per year (480 small) | Paid when the CoS is assigned, for the full visa length |
None of these may be passed to the worker. Recovering the Immigration Skills Charge or the CoS fee is a breach of sponsor duties that can cost the licence, and any clawback clause for the worker's own visa fee must be reasonable. A recruiter who asks a candidate to pay for a certificate of sponsorship is a warning sign for both sides.
The CoS records the occupation code (SOC 2020), the salary, the hours, the work address and the start date. The duties must genuinely match the code; UKVI checks job descriptions against the SOC descriptions and refuses where a lower-skilled role has been coded upwards. Salary is assessed on guaranteed basic pay for up to 48 hours a week; allowances, bonuses and equity do not count.
The worker's side: fees, English and maintenance
| Item | GBP | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker visa, up to 3 years | 819 (628 ISL) | Per person, including each dependant |
| Skilled Worker visa, over 3 years | 1,618 (1,235 ISL) | Per person |
| Immigration health surcharge | 1,035 per year | Paid upfront; Health and Care visa holders exempt |
| Priority service | 500 extra | Where offered |
| Maintenance | 1,270 | Held 28 days, unless the sponsor certifies maintenance on the CoS |
English at B2 is proven by a SELT (IELTS for UKVI, PTE Academic UKVI, LanguageCert), an Ecctis statement for a degree taught in English, or a UK degree. Applicants staying more than six months need a TB certificate from an IOM-approved clinic in India, and jobs in education, health and social care need a criminal record certificate from every country lived in for 12 months or more in the last ten years; Indian police clearance certificates take two to four weeks through Passport Seva.
Dependants pay the same fee band and £1,035 a year each, and need £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each further child in maintenance unless the sponsor certifies it. Partners can work in any job.
Who qualifies for the £33,400 threshold?
The £33,400 threshold applies to new entrants (under 26, recent graduates, or switching from the Student or Graduate route), to PhD holders in a relevant subject (£37,500 for non-STEM doctorates), and to Immigration Salary List occupations. National pay scales apply to NHS clinical roles and teachers. The going rate for each occupation code is published annually; where it exceeds the general threshold the going rate wins. Check the code and the rate before the offer letter goes out, not after the refusal.
How does the application run?
- The employer checks the role against the skill level and salary, requests a defined CoS from UKVI and assigns it to you, paying the Immigration Skills Charge.
- You gather the passport, CoS number, English evidence, maintenance evidence or certification, TB certificate and any criminal record certificate.
- You apply online within three months of the CoS being assigned, pay the fee and the surcharge for the full visa length, and book VFS Global for biometrics.
- UKVI decides in about three weeks (priority about five working days). The status is an eVisa; link it to your UKVI account.
- You can travel up to 14 days before the start date on the CoS and may work only for the sponsor in the role on the certificate, plus up to 20 hours a week of supplementary work in an eligible occupation.
Plan six to ten weeks from offer letter to first day when the employer already holds a licence, and about four months when it does not.
Changing jobs, extending and settling
The visa is tied to the sponsor, the occupation code and the salary on the CoS. A new employer, or a new occupation code with the same employer, needs a new CoS and a change-of-employment application (£943 or £1,865 inside the UK) before you start. Pay rises and title changes within the same code only need a sponsor report. Each grant lasts up to five years and can be extended while you qualify. After five years with no more than 180 days' absence in any 12 months you can apply for indefinite leave to remain (£3,226); the UK settlement route page covers the test, and the UK indefinite leave to remain guide covers the absence rules in detail.
Why are Skilled Worker visas refused, and what fixes each reason?
Salary below the threshold or the going rate. The sponsor reissues the CoS at a compliant salary for the stated hours after checking the going-rates table.
Occupation not eligible at the skill level. The duties were coded to a medium-skilled occupation not on the lists, or the code did not match the duties. Re-examine the role against SOC 2020; if it genuinely fits a graduate code, recode it; if not, it cannot be sponsored.
English not proven at B2. An older B1 result or a non-SELT test. Take a SELT at B2 or obtain the Ecctis statement.
Genuineness of the vacancy or sponsor compliance. UKVI doubted the role existed as described or the licence was downgraded during processing. Employers keep job descriptions, organisation charts and right-to-work records in order; workers check the sponsor's rating on the register before accepting.
Missing maintenance, TB or criminal record evidence. Ask the sponsor to certify maintenance, book the TB test within six months of applying, and request police certificates early.
How Vistolane handles it
Work routes on Vistolane go to a licence-checked immigration partner who runs the employer's sponsor licence and CoS alongside the worker's visa, with a compliance check against the going rate and skill level before the offer letter is issued. Employers can start from the UK work permit page; applicants start with the free eligibility check or the UK Skilled Worker route page.
