How to ask a UK company for visa sponsorship

When to tell an employer you need visa sponsorship

The right time to ask a UK company for visa sponsorship depends on where you are and how long your visa has left. For the wider route, see the guide to a sponsored job after graduating.

If the application form asks

Tell the truth. The employer has to check before hiring you. GOV.UK tells employers: "You must check that a job applicant is allowed to work for you in the UK before you employ them." The same page says: "You must not discriminate against anyone because of where they're from."

If you are on a Graduate visa

You cannot extend a Graduate visa. It lasts 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026 or 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027, and 3 years with a PhD or other doctoral qualification whenever you apply (the 18-month change). A Skilled Worker decision from inside the UK usually takes 8 weeks, so if an employer takes weeks to answer about sponsorship, you lose those weeks from the time your visa has left. See what to do if your Graduate visa is expiring.

If you studied in the UK and now live abroad

From outside the UK, a Skilled Worker decision usually takes 3 weeks. Your employer needs a defined certificate of sponsorship, the type used for people applying from outside the UK, and applies for it through the sponsorship management system. GOV.UK says these applications are usually approved within one working day, but can take longer if UKVI needs to carry out further checks. The rest is in the guide to a Skilled Worker visa after leaving the UK.

In both cases

You must apply within 3 months of the employer assigning your certificate, and no more than 3 months before the job's start date. Raise sponsorship at first contact or in your cover letter, before any offer.

Check three things before you ask

1. The register. The Home Office register of licensed sponsors lists each organisation, the category of workers it can sponsor and its rating. When checked on 15 September 2026, GOV.UK showed it as last updated on 14 September 2026. The sponsor match inside a JLocate job check uses fictional demo employers, so check the employer on the GOV.UK register itself.
2. The rating. GOV.UK says: "An A-rated licence lets you start assigning certificates of sponsorship." A B-rated sponsor cannot issue new certificates until it gets its A rating back. It can still issue them to workers it already employs who are extending.
3. The occupation. If the occupation code is listed as medium skilled, the job must be on the immigration salary list, or on the temporary shortage list for a certificate of sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026. The only other exceptions cover prison officers (code 3314) and people extending who got their first certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025.

An employer can hold a licence and still be unable to sponsor this job. See sponsor licence vs sponsored job.

The questions that get a useful answer

To ask an employer for visa sponsorship, swap "do you sponsor?" for questions with answers you can check. When a vacancy leaves these facts out, JLocate suggests versions of the first, second and fourth.

1. "Which legal entity would be the employer on the contract?" You need the registered name to find the licence and its rating.
2. "If the role were sponsored, which occupation code (SOC code) would it be sponsored under?" Eligibility and the going rate both depend on the code. GOV.UK tells applicants: "If you already have a job offer, ask your employer for your occupation code."
3. "Does the salary meet the Skilled Worker salary requirement for that code?" The requirement depends on the code, so you need the code first.
4. "Would you consider Skilled Worker sponsorship for this role, and has the team sponsored similar roles before?" A licence shows the organisation can sponsor. You still need to know whether this team will.
5. "What would the timeline be for assigning the certificate?" Compare the answer with your visa dates.

How the salary check works

The general salary requirement is £41,700 a year or the standard going rate for your occupation code, whichever is higher. If you count as a new entrant, for example because you are under 26 or are on a Student or Graduate visa now or were in the last 2 years, an employer can pay you 70% of the standard going rate, at least £33,400, as long as your total stay is no more than 4 years including Graduate visa time. Different salary rules apply to some healthcare and education jobs.

Run your own figures in the salary calculator, and read the new-entrant rate guide before you rely on the lower rate.

Example email asking for visa sponsorship

To ask for visa sponsorship in an email, name the role, give your situation in one line and ask two or three of the questions above.

Subject: [Job title], [reference]: a question before I apply

Hello [name], I am interested in the [job title] role. I am on a Graduate visa until [month and year], so I would need Skilled Worker sponsorship. Before I apply, could you tell me:

1. which legal entity would be the employer on the contract
2. which occupation code (SOC code) the role would be sponsored under
3. whether you would consider Skilled Worker sponsorship for this role

[Only if true:] I would count as a new entrant under the Skilled Worker salary rules. Thank you for your help. [Your name]

If you are writing from abroad, replace the visa line with: "I studied at [university] and am now based in [country]. I would need Skilled Worker sponsorship to take up the role."

An employer can say yes to "do you sponsor?" about a job that fails on occupation or salary. With the occupation code and the legal entity, you can check both yourself.

Mentioning visa sponsorship in a cover letter

To mention visa sponsorship in a cover letter, give it one factual line near the end, after you have made your case.

"I would need Skilled Worker sponsorship and could start from [date]. [Only if true:] I would count as a new entrant under the Skilled Worker salary rules."

Skip apologies and long explanations of your visa history. Leave salary thresholds out too: the going rate depends on the occupation code, and you do not know that code yet.

What sponsorship costs the employer

An employer is usually a small sponsor if at least 2 of these apply: turnover of £15 million or less, total assets of £7.5 million or less, 50 employees or fewer. The employer pays the charge when it assigns the certificate. Occupation codes 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115, 2119, 2161, 2162 and 2311 are exempt.

GOV.UK tells sponsors: "You must pay the immigration skills charge yourself. Your licence may be revoked if you ask the sponsored worker to pay the fee or any costs linked to your application." Do not offer to pay or share these costs. If an employer asks you to pay them, treat it as a red flag.

If you are switching from a Student visa

Under the heading "If you're sponsoring someone to switch to a work visa from a visa that allows them to study", GOV.UK says: "You will not have to pay the charge if they switch to either a Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker visa and then extend their stay on the new visa." The Home Office guidance for sponsors says who that covers: someone with current permission as a Student on the day the certificate is assigned, whether or not they are in the UK. Employers are not exempt for someone whose permission is as a Graduate, or whose Student visa has already expired (guidance for sponsors, part 2, S5.11 to S5.13).

Your own costs

• Application fee from outside the UK: £819 for up to 3 years, £1,618 for more than 3 years.
• Application fee from inside the UK: £943 for up to 3 years, £1,865 for more than 3 years.
• If your job is on the immigration salary list, the fee is £628 for up to 3 years or £1,235 for more than 3 years, from inside or outside the UK.
• Immigration health surcharge: usually £1,035 per year.

You usually need at least £1,270 available to support yourself. You do not have to prove it if you have been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months, or if your employer will cover your costs during your first month in the UK, up to £1,270, and confirms this on your certificate of sponsorship. Every Skilled Worker fee in one place, with who pays each one, is on the calculator.

What to do with the answer

• A clear yes, with a code and a salary at or above the requirement: apply.
• "We don't sponsor", a B-rated licence, or a medium-skilled code on neither the immigration salary list nor the temporary shortage list (which only covers certificates issued before 31 December 2026): move on.
• A vague maybe: ask for the occupation code and the legal entity in writing.
• A salary below the general threshold: check whether the new-entrant rate applies before you rule the job out.

To get the questions for one vacancy, paste it into JLocate. JLocate uses GOV.UK rules and thresholds checked on 15 September 2026. Its demo vacancies are fictional. A vacancy you paste has its employer looked up on a copy of the GOV.UK register taken when the site was last built, so confirm the current entry on GOV.UK. The share link carries the check and the job facts, not your name, age, dates or route history, so you can send it to a recruiter. The privacy page has the detail.

This guide does not give legal advice. For advice on your case, speak to an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority or a solicitor. Written by Maksym Gavrylenko, with sources and dates.

Questions people ask

Related

• A sponsor licence is not a sponsored job
• The new-entrant salary rate
• Skilled Worker visa after leaving the UK
• Salary threshold calculator

Sources

Checked against these pages on 22 September 2026. Immigration rules change; the official page wins if it disagrees with this guide.

• Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors, part 2 (GOV.UK)
• Immigration Skills Charge (GOV.UK)
• Certificates of sponsorship (GOV.UK)
• Your licence rating (GOV.UK)
• Register of licensed sponsors: workers (Home Office)
• Skilled Worker visa: your job (GOV.UK)
• Skilled Worker visa: when you can be paid less (GOV.UK)
• Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes (Home Office)
• Skilled Worker visa: how much it costs (GOV.UK)
• Skilled Worker visa (GOV.UK)
• Graduate visa (GOV.UK)
• Check a job applicant's right to work (GOV.UK)
• Immigration Advice Authority (GOV.UK)