How to tell if a UK job sponsors a visa: five checks before you apply
To tell if a UK job sponsors a visa, start with the Home Office register of licensed sponsors. A licence shows the employer can sponsor workers, so the role itself then has to pass four more checks: an eligible occupation code, a salary at or above the threshold that applies to you, your own route to that threshold, and an employer willing to assign a certificate of sponsorship for this job.
A sponsor licence is not a sponsored job
The Home Office register of licensed sponsors lists organisations licensed to sponsor on the Worker and Temporary Worker routes, with the category of worker each one can sponsor and its rating. The latest file on that page is dated 14 September 2026. It lists no vacancies and gives no sign of which roles an employer will sponsor. A company on the sponsor list may not be hiring, and it may not sponsor the job in front of you.
For a Skilled Worker visa you need a job offer from an approved UK employer and a certificate of sponsorship. GOV.UK describes the certificate as "an electronic record, not a physical document". It carries a reference number, and you must apply within 3 months of getting it (GOV.UK: your job).
Run the five checks below in order, and stop at the first one a job fails.
Check 1: the employer's licence, route and rating
To check a sponsor licence, search for the organisation in the CSV on the GOV.UK register. Each row gives the organisation's name, town and county, its type and rating, and a route it is licensed for. Then look at the route and the rating.
- Route. Look for a row showing the Skilled Worker route. A licence for other routes only, such as Temporary Worker routes, does not cover this visa.
- A rating. An A-rated licence lets the employer assign certificates of sponsorship (GOV.UK: your licence rating).
- B rating. A B-rated sponsor cannot issue new certificates of sponsorship until it has made improvements and upgraded back to an A rating. It can still issue certificates to workers it already employs who want to extend their stay. For a new hire, it cannot issue a certificate until it is A-rated again.
The register shows the licensed organisation's name, which can differ from the brand in the ad. If the brand name returns nothing, search for the parent or trading company as well.
JLocate's sponsor licence checker searches a copy of the GOV.UK register by employer name, taken when the site was last built, so confirm the current entry on GOV.UK before you rely on it. A vacancy you paste into JLocate has its employer looked up on the same copy; only the demo vacancies use fictional employers.
Check 2: the job's occupation code
A sponsoring company can have jobs that do not qualify for a Skilled Worker visa. Each role needs an eligible 4-digit occupation code. If you have an offer, GOV.UK says to ask the employer for the code. If you do not know the code, you can search for the job in the CASCOT tool. GOV.UK warns that "not every job title is included", so pick the code that matches the duties in the ad (GOV.UK: your job).
GOV.UK lists each code as higher skilled or medium skilled. A higher skilled job is eligible. A medium skilled job qualifies only if it is on the immigration salary list, if it is on the temporary shortage list and the certificate of sponsorship is issued before 31 December 2026, if it is a prison officer job (code 3314) and you are extending or switching, or if you are extending your visa and got your first certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025.
The Appendix Skilled Occupations sets this out in tables. Table 1 holds codes skilled to RQF level 6 (bachelor's degree level) or above, which are eligible for the route. Table 1a holds codes skilled to RQF level 3 to 5. Unless the job is on the immigration salary list or the Temporary Shortage List, sponsors can use Table 1a only for people granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules before 22 July 2025 who have held it continuously since. The Temporary Shortage List, at SW 6.1A of Appendix Skilled Worker, covers applications made with a certificate of sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026. For example:
- 2134 Programmers and software development professionals: Table 1.
- 2136 IT quality and testing professionals: Table 1.
- 3544 Data analysts: Table 1a, so medium skilled. It is on the Temporary Shortage List, so a new applicant can be sponsored in this code if the application uses a certificate of sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026.
Check 3: the salary against the right threshold
Under the general rule, your salary must be £41,700 or the job's standard going rate, whichever is higher (GOV.UK: when you can be paid less). A salary above £41,700 can fall short when the going rate is higher. The going rates table, updated 22 July 2025, sets 2134 at £54,700, 2136 at £41,200, 2133 at £54,900, 2139 at £52,300 and 3544 at £34,900.
If you qualify as a new entrant (check 4), the bar drops to 70% of the going rate, and the salary must be at least £33,400. GOV.UK publishes the resulting figure for each code in its minimum salary table for people under 26, studying or training. If the job is eligible for a PhD salary discount, a relevant STEM PhD sets the bar at 80%, at least £33,400, and a relevant non-STEM PhD sets it at 90%, at least £37,500. Ignore the "lower rate" column in the going rates table when you work out a new-entrant bar. That column covers other groups, such as people whose first Skilled Worker certificate came before 4 April 2024.
The worked example below applies those rules to one £40,000 offer in three roles.
| Occupation code | General bar | £40,000 on the general bar | New-entrant bar | £40,000 as a new entrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2134 Programmers and software development professionals | £54,700 (the going rate) | Fails | £38,300 (70% of £54,700, as the Rules print it) | Passes |
| 2136 IT quality and testing professionals | £41,700 (higher than the £41,200 going rate) | Fails | £33,400 (the floor, as 70% is £28,840) | Passes |
| 3544 Data analysts (Temporary Shortage List) | £41,700 (higher than the £34,900 going rate) | Fails | £33,400 (the floor, as 70% is £24,430) | Passes |
To test your own offer, work out your salary threshold. Before you rely on the lower bar, read how the new-entrant rate works.
Check 4: your own situation
You may qualify for the new-entrant bar in check 3 on one of five grounds, including being under 26 on the date you apply, or being on a Student visa at bachelor's degree level or above or a Graduate visa now, or in the last 2 years with that visa or a visit visa as your most recent visa (GOV.UK: when you can be paid less). On any of them, your total stay in the UK cannot be more than 4 years, including time on a Graduate visa. How the new-entrant rate works lists all five grounds.
If you left the UK after your course, the Student and Graduate grounds only help if you were in the UK on that visa in the last 2 years and it, or a visit visa, was your most recent visa. JLocate's dashboard counts down the days left in that window from the visa expiry date in your profile. For the rest of that route, see applying from abroad after a UK degree.
You will usually need to prove your English too. If you use an English test, the level is B2. A degree-level qualification taught in English and awarded by a UK institution also proves it (GOV.UK: knowledge of English).
Check 5: whether the employer will sponsor this role
After checks 1 to 4, the employer has to agree to sponsor this role. Read the ad and sort it into one of three groups.
- Says sponsorship is available. The job passes this check. It must also pass checks 1 to 4, and your application must succeed.
- Says right to work required, or no sponsorship. Treat the job as not sponsored. If you hold a Graduate visa, read the last paragraph of this section first.
- Says nothing. Count that as unknown, and ask before you put time into the application: see how to ask a recruiter about sponsorship.
Sponsorship costs the employer money. A worker's certificate of sponsorship costs £525 (GOV.UK: certificates of sponsorship). When the employer assigns the certificate, it usually also pays the Immigration Skills Charge. For the first 12 months that is £480 for a small or charitable sponsor or £1,320 for a medium or large sponsor, then £240 or £660 for each extra 6 months. GOV.UK lists exemptions, including some people switching from a visa that allows them to study (GOV.UK: Immigration Skills Charge).
Red flag: the sponsor must pay these costs itself. Both GOV.UK pages say a licence "may be revoked if you ask the sponsored worker to pay the fee or any costs linked to your application". If an employer asks you to pay or share them, raise it before you go further.
If you hold a Graduate visa, an ad's "right to work" question may mean right to work now. The visa lets you work in most jobs, but you cannot extend it. To stay after it ends you would need a different visa, and if that is a Skilled Worker visa, the employer has to sponsor you (GOV.UK: Graduate visa).
Run the checks on a vacancy you found
Paste a vacancy into JLocate and it runs these checks against your saved profile. The profile stays in your browser, and you need no account. Each vacancy gets one of four statuses: likely compatible, needs confirmation, likely incompatible or not enough information. JLocate marks what the ad leaves unknown and writes the questions to ask the recruiter. The rules and thresholds come from GOV.UK (where these figures come from). The vacancies inside the app, and the employers a job check matches against, are fictional demo data, so a job check cannot confirm a real employer's licence: search the employer in the sponsor licence checker and confirm the entry on the GOV.UK register.
Figures checked on GOV.UK on 15 September 2026. This guide is general information. For legal advice on your own case, speak to an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority or a solicitor.
Questions people ask
Does being on the sponsor list mean a company is hiring?
No. The Home Office register lists organisations licensed to sponsor workers, with the route each one can sponsor and its rating. You will find no vacancies on it, and it does not show which roles an employer will sponsor.
Are all jobs at a sponsoring company eligible for a Skilled Worker visa?
No. Each role needs an eligible occupation code. For a new applicant that usually means a higher skilled code, at RQF level 6 (bachelor's degree level) or above, unless the job is on the immigration salary list, or on the Temporary Shortage List for a certificate issued before 31 December 2026. The role also needs a salary that meets the threshold that applies to you, and the employer must assign a certificate of sponsorship for that job.
How does visa sponsorship work in the UK?
The employer holds a sponsor licence and needs an A rating to assign new certificates of sponsorship. It assigns a certificate for the job and pays the £525 certificate fee plus any Immigration Skills Charge that applies. You then apply within 3 months using the certificate's reference number. GOV.UK says a decision usually takes 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks inside.
Why is a salary above £41,700 not always enough?
The bar is £41,700 or the job's going rate, whichever is higher. For example, 2134 Programmers and software development professionals has a going rate of £54,700, so a £45,000 offer falls short. If you qualify for the new-entrant rate, the bar for that code is 70% of £54,700, which the Immigration Rules print as £38,300, and the same offer passes.
Do UK companies sponsor visas?
Yes, if they hold a sponsor licence and appear on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors. A licensed employer can still decline to sponsor a given role, so check the job as well as the company.
Paste a vacancy you found and JLocate checks it against your profile, then writes the questions to ask the recruiter about anything the ad leaves out.
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Sources
Checked against these pages on . Immigration rules change; the official page wins if it disagrees with this guide.
- Register of licensed sponsors: workers (GOV.UK)
- Skilled Worker visa (GOV.UK)
- Skilled Worker visa: your job (GOV.UK)
- Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations (GOV.UK)
- Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker (GOV.UK)
- Skilled Worker visa: temporary shortage list (GOV.UK)
- Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes (GOV.UK)
- Skilled Worker visa: minimum salary if you're under 26, studying, training or in a postdoctoral role (GOV.UK)
- Skilled Worker visa: when you can be paid less (GOV.UK)
- Skilled Worker visa: knowledge of English (GOV.UK)
- UK visa sponsorship for employers: your licence rating (GOV.UK)
- UK visa sponsorship for employers: certificates of sponsorship (GOV.UK)
- UK visa sponsorship for employers: Immigration Skills Charge (GOV.UK)
- Graduate visa (GOV.UK)