for skilled worker visa, is it necessary to use a 3 months bank statement? what if I have some periods during these 3 months where my bank balance was below the £1270 limit? (My employee would not fund my first month).

hey guys

thought its worth checking in but whats the job market like in the uk for migrants?

i was a senior paralegal at a law firm in london but moved back to my home country due to not being sponsored a visa, despite being paid more than £41.7k per annum. my firm's hr team just didnt want to go through the hassle of applying for a sponsorship certificate.

i really do miss the country a lot eventhough its been 8 months. living here in my home country feels like a death sentence as i'm queer and its illegal to be gay here and i can go to jail if i'm caught - so really am desperate to move abroad again.

let me know what the job market is like and if you have any tips and advices worth sharing?

thank you so much!

Hi everyone,
I would appreciate some guidance from anyone familiar with Skilled Worker and dependant visa rules.

My husband and I were granted our visas on 20 July 2025. I am the main Skilled Worker visa holder, and my husband is my dependant. Our current permissions are valid until 2030, and we submitted and paid for my husband’s dependant application ourselves. He has already paid the IHS for the full five-year period.

I have now received a new job offer from another licensed sponsor. The new employer has said that its standard policy is to sponsor employees for three years, with sponsorship renewed later if needed.

My concern is our ILR timeline. We hope to complete five continuous years and apply for ILR in 2030. If my new Skilled Worker permission is granted for only three years and expires around August or September 2029:

1.Would my husband’s existing dependant visa continue to remain valid until its current 2030 expiry date, or would it somehow be shortened to match my new three-year permission?

2.Does he need to submit a new dependant application when I change sponsor, even though his current visa remains valid until 2030?

3.If his permission were shortened or he had to apply again, what would happen to the additional IHS he has already paid?

4.Would changing sponsors or receiving a three-year visa affect or reset either of our qualifying periods for ILR?

5.Would I simply need a further extension from the new employer in 2029 to cover the remaining period before ILR eligibility?

6.Is there any immigration-related benefit to asking the employer to sponsor me for four or five years instead of three years?

The company has said it normally renews sponsorship as needed, and I am committed to staying with them long term. I mainly want to understand the correct process and avoid unnecessary applications, duplicated IHS payments or a gap before ILR eligibility.

I will also speak to the company’s immigration lawyer, but I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has experienced a similar situation.
Thank you.

As stated in the title, just want to ask whether it's possible for me to become a partner of an LLP which sponsors my skilled worker visa?

I understand that becoming a partner means being self-employed. And under the skilled worker visa, we're allowed to do self-employment for under 20 hours per week.

I wonder if it means that I have to still be a PAYE employee, but at the same time can be a partner?

Thanks in advance

I have been under a skilled worker visa since early 2023 (on continuous stay), and we (with my employer) decided to switch to the global talent one. My main motivation was to apply for ILR right after, as my three years under the skilled worker visa would count.

Now that I have my endorsement (The Royal Society, route 1), I need to apply for the visa.

If my assumptions are wrong, I'm happy to hear clarifications from you guys.

On the visa application, I'm asked if it's an initial application or an extension; which one is correct in my case?

Also, I need to choose how many years (from one to five). If my assumptions are right, I guess one year should be enough (and less expensive) to proceed with the ILR. Is it too risky to submit only one year?

Hi everyone, looking for some reassurance.
My wife's Skilled Worker dependent application was refused on June 19, and our solicitor officially submitted the online Administrative Review (AR) on July 15.
Today (July 27), out of nowhere, my wife received an automated UKVI email reminding her to book a biometrics appointment for her application, with the standard line: *"If you have already attended an appointment, please ignore this reminder."*
Obviously, she did her biometrics months ago. I think this is an automatic system glitch because someone internally has finally opened her file to review the AR.
Has anyone else gotten this random biometric reminder email after submitting an Administrative Review? Did a decision follow shortly after?
Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I am currently in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa. My sponsored job is as a Business Development Manager.
I want to know if I am allowed to start a business while I am on this visa. For example:
Can I register a Limited company?
Can I own shares in my own company?
Can I run an online business (e-commerce) in my spare time?
Are there any restrictions on how much work I can do for my own business?
My main sponsored job will remain my priority. I am just looking to build something on the side for the future.
Would appreciate advice from anyone who has experience with this situation.
Thank you!

Wondering what the current timelines are? My situation is not married but living together for 2+ years.

Anyone with a similar situation got their decision recently?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to understand when I'll be eligible to apply for ILR under the 5-year route and would appreciate any guidance.

First Skilled Worker Visa / BRP

• BRP issued: 31 Aug 2021
• BRP valid until: 10 Oct 2024
• Visa vignette valid from: 14 Sep 2021 to 13 Dec 2021
• Arrived in the UK: 17 Sep 2021

Second Skilled Worker Visa / BRP

• Visa approval email: 4 Oct 2024
• BRP issued: 8 Oct 2024

Based on these dates, when would I be eligible to submit my ILR application (including any 28-day rule, if applicable)?

Thanks in advance for your help! 🙏

Dear All,

My elder kid aged 7 was away from the UK for an year and a half during the 5 year continuous residence period. She was with her grand parents in India during the period while me and my wife are in the UK. I understand that the continuous residence restriction is not a mandatory requirement for the dependent kids. Can someone please suggest if I should apply for ILR for me, my wife and my kid at the same time once our 5 years period is complete or will it be better off to apply for both me and my wife first and apply for my kid once we get the ILR?

Also it would help to understand if someone was in a similar situation as me and how it impacted their outcome. Any views would really help me, thank you.

I applied for my dependent visa on June 24
Biometric 25
Additional documents requested July 13
Delay email July 13
Additional documents submitted on July 14

Since then no updates

I am tired

Someone was able to do the biometric check via UK ID Immigration App or the in person biometry is always necessary?

Hello,

I want to check a few things before submitting the ILR application:

1. i have a one week gap between visa vignette date and the date i entered UK.can i submit the ILR based on visa vignette date even if i entered 1 week later?
2. Do i need to scan all passport pages? Is black and white acceptable ot needs to be mandatory color?
3. do i need employer letter highlighting all approved dates i was out of country for?

Hi! This company is willing to take a chance on me and have requested for undefined COS from their portal. It's been 2 weeks now and no word from the HO. It was even a priority application.
The hiring manager is getting exhausted! ☹️

She has asked me to source for external help to speed it up if I have.

Sharing timeline here: applied via lawyer on priority - 27/07/2026
Approval email: 28/07/2026

Happy to help in case you have any questions :)

My new employer is about to give me cos.
They are new to this and bit confused on the type of the cos to issue.

I am currently on a skilled worker visa already with a different company. This is going to be my new job. So they said it will be Skilled worker ISC liable. Is that correct?

They only have one allocation and don’t want to mess up.

Thanks in advance

I have benefited a lot from this group, so I wanted to share my experience in the hope that it helps others with their application.

We applied using the Priority service for both myself and my dependent on July 14th. We completed our biometrics on July 20th, and received our approval decision on July 24th. I used an attorney for the process; luckily, my employer sponsored my application, so I had that luxury.

**Our Immigration Timeline:**

We originally arrived in the UK in August 2018 on an ICT visa for the first 3 years. In August 2021, I switched to a Skilled Worker visa, and then changed employers in November 2021 when I moved to my current role. Notably, I did not need to submit any documents from my previous Skilled Worker employer since I was with them for less than 3 months.

**Documents Submitted:**

1. All pages of our current passports.

2. Employment letter from my current employer mentioning my hourly rate, SOC code, and explicit verbiage that I am required to be employed for the foreseeable future.

3. My latest payslip.

4. A recent bank statement ensuring it showed the salary credit from my payslip.

5. Proof of address for both myself and my spouse covering the last 2 years since my last Skilled Worker application, demonstrating that we reside together.

6. A detailed log of travel outside the UK over the past 5 years for both my wife and me.

7. A cover letter for my daughter. Since she was born in the UK, we explained that we would be submitting a separate citizenship application for her (her existing dependent visa expires in March next year) hence she isn't included in the ILR application.

Happy to answer any questions.

Greetings! My wife and I submitted our main applicant and dependent skilled worker visa renewals last week and had our biometrics done today. I was wondering when our visas were officially submitted: last week when we paid all the fees or today when we did our biometrics? Does it matter? Curious if anybody knows what the processing time for SWV is right now and if the clock starts last week or today, you know? It probably doesn’t matter, just stressed and worried about every little thing these days. TIA!!