UK Work Permits
Temporary Work permits
Temporary permits are available for people who wish to undertake professional training in the U.K. or to undergo a period of up to two years of work experience. A Sectors Based work permit scheme exists with special short term permits available to assist with recruitment shortages in the catering and hospitality trades, as well as other occupations.
Long Term Work Permits
A long term U.K. work permit is applied for by a U.K. employer on behalf of a potential foreign-born employee. For most permits the minimum skill level is the equivalent of the U.K. Higher National Diploma Level and zero to one year of mandatory work experience. Alternatively, the skill level is simply three years' of relevant specialized work experience.
Applications fall into one of two categories: tier one or tier two. Tier one categories are not subject to a resident labor test which generally requires a Europe-wide recruitment advertising (see below for Tier 2). Tier one cases include the inter-company transferee, a senior member of a corporate board, or an inward investment case where significant investment in the U.K. by an overseas company depends upon the employment of a specific foreign national. School teachers and nurses are considered 'shortage occupations' and are also included in the tier one category. There is also the discretion to waive the resident labour test in individual cases where the facts are such that the test would be clearly inappropriate.
Everyone else falls into the tier two category and must undergo the resident labor test. Four weeks must elapse to allow responses to the recruitment advertising and only if no suitable British or other European candidate comes forward will a work permit application be approved.
A work permit may be given for any period of time up to five years, with extensions routinely granted provided the facts remain unchanged. The work permit is granted for a specific job and does not authorize a change of job or employer. In the event a work permit holder needs to change employment a new work permit must be obtained prior to the change. Start-up companies tend to be granted a shorter period of time than five years until they can prove the viability of the business.
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