Best Industries for Visa Sponsorship in the UK 2026: Where to Focus Your Job Search

If you are planning to work in the UK and need a sponsored visa, the single most important thing you can do is target the right sectors from the very start. Not every industry sponsors international workers at the same rate. Not every employer has a sponsor licence. And since the UK’s immigration rules changed significantly in 2025, not every role that previously qualified for sponsorship still does.

The good news is that the UK’s best sponsorship industries are not obscure niches. They are large, stable, consistently in-demand sectors that have been sponsoring international workers for years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Technology, healthcare, engineering, education, and financial services are the top five industries for visa sponsorship, and while the core sectors remain the same as previous years, significant policy shifts have changed how sponsorship is offered and which roles are eligible.

This guide explains the current rules, maps out the best industries sector by sector, gives you real salary data, tells you which employers are actively sponsoring, and explains exactly how to position yourself for success in 2026.

The UK Sponsorship Landscape in 2026: What Has Changed

Before diving into individual sectors, you need to understand the framework you are operating in. The UK’s points-based immigration system has undergone substantial changes since 2024, and the rules now in force are significantly stricter than they were two or three years ago.

The most significant change came in July 2025, when the skills threshold for the Skilled Worker visa increased from RQF Level 3 to RQF Level 6 – graduate or degree level. This removed eligibility for over 110 occupations previously open to sponsorship, including chefs, teaching assistants, and care workers.

From 22 July 2025, the general salary threshold for new Skilled Worker applications is £41,700 per year, or the full going rate for the role, whichever is higher. For context, this is significantly higher than the UK median salary of £37,430. It means entry-level and mid-level roles rarely qualify unless the employer is paying above-average for that occupation.

From 8 January 2026, English language requirements for new Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual, and Scale Up visa applicants have been raised from B1 to B2 – a higher standard that tests reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

The Immigration Salary List (which replaced the former Shortage Occupation List) will be phased out by December 2026, and the Temporary Shortage List – which currently allows some mid-skilled RQF Level 3-5 roles to qualify – also faces review by the end of 2026. Both lists provide limited salary discounts for eligible roles right now, but the window for those concessions is closing.

Limited exceptions exist for roles on the Immigration Salary List and Temporary Shortage List until December 2026, so for workers considering sponsorship in borderline roles, applying sooner rather than later matters.

Despite all of this, the core sponsorship sectors remain genuinely open. The UK visa sponsorship landscape in 2026 rewards preparation, sector expertise, and strategic job searching, and for skilled workers in shortage sectors with salaries meeting thresholds, opportunities remain substantial across the country’s 120,000+ licensed sponsors.

Industry 1: Healthcare – The UK’s Most Consistent Sponsorship Sector

Healthcare is the single most active sponsorship sector in the UK and has been for years. The NHS remains the UK’s largest employer with approximately 1.51 million employees, and 21% of the NHS workforce in England are non-UK nationals. That is not an accident – it reflects a structural, long-term dependence on internationally trained professionals that domestic training pipelines alone cannot meet.

In the year ending June 2024, over 89,000 work visas were granted to healthcare workers under the Health and Care Worker Visa stream ukjobsalert – by far the highest volume of any sector. Despite the tightening of rules in 2025, clinical healthcare remains robustly open to international sponsorship.

What roles are eligible?

The Health and Care Worker Visa is a sub-type of the Skilled Worker Visa with lower fees and faster processing. It covers a wide range of clinical and allied health roles. Currently eligible roles include doctors, nurses and midwives, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers, paramedics, laboratory technicians with relevant experience, and nursing auxiliaries and assistants where they work alongside registered healthcare professionals.

Care workers (SOC 6135) and senior care workers (SOC 6136) will no longer be able to make new applications for visas from July 2025, though a transition period applies until July 2028 for extensions and switches from other routes. This is an important distinction: frontline social care is now largely closed to new overseas recruitment. NHS clinical roles remain fully open.

Salaries and thresholds

Healthcare roles are assessed under national pay scale frameworks such as NHS Agenda for Change. The minimum salary threshold for most healthcare sponsorship roles is £25,000, with specific going rates applying depending on band and role. Senior clinical roles – consultants, specialist doctors, senior nurses – earn substantially more, often £55,000-£100,000+, putting them well clear of any threshold concern.

Healthcare employers actively sponsoring

The NHS is the obvious starting point. NHS Jobs advertises approximately 25,000 vacancies every month, covering around 350 different career paths. Beyond the NHS, private healthcare providers including BUPA, Nuffield Health, Spire Healthcare, Barchester Healthcare, and HC-One actively sponsor international clinical staff.

Health and Care Worker Visa benefits

Healthcare employers benefit from the dedicated Health and Care Worker Visa, which offers reduced application fees of £304-£590, exemption from the £1,035 per year Immigration Health Surcharge, and faster processing times. These financial advantages make the healthcare route significantly cheaper for both employer and applicant than the standard Skilled Worker route.

Best entry point for healthcare professionals: Register with NHS Jobs at jobs.nhs.uk, search by your professional registration type, and filter for roles offering visa sponsorship. Ensure your overseas professional qualifications are registered with the relevant UK regulatory body (NMC for nurses, GMC for doctors) before applying – this is a prerequisite, not something you can complete after accepting a job offer.

Browse Healthcare and Medical jobs on UKJobsAlert to explore current clinical and allied health vacancies with sponsorship.

Industry 2: Technology – The Fastest-Growing Sponsorship Sector

Technology is the sector where the combination of acute skills shortage, high salaries, and global employer mindset creates the most consistent opportunity for internationally sponsored workers in 2026.

The 2026 framework for the Skilled Worker Visa strongly favours senior and specialist IT roles. Software engineers, data scientists, and cybersecurity analysts remain sponsorable, while technician or IT support roles have largely fallen off the list unless featured on the Immigration Salary List.

UK IT jobs in sponsored roles offer £45,000+ typical salaries, with over 68,000 employers currently holding active sponsor licences. The most in-demand technical specialisms for sponsorship are artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud computing, cyber security, software engineering, and data science.

Salaries across technology roles

AI and machine learning roles are among the most consistently sponsored in the UK. Mid-level ML engineers and AI engineers earn £50,000-£70,000. Senior AI scientists and ML leads earn £75,000-£100,000+. These figures comfortably exceed the £41,700 visa threshold, making this specialism one of the most viable for sponsored applicants.

Software engineers in London start at £45,000-£50,000, with experienced professionals regularly earning £70,000-£100,000. Cyber security analysts earn £34,000-£80,000 depending on experience and seniority. Data scientists average £55,000-£75,000 at mid-senior level. IT roles in the UK typically offer £45,000+ for sponsored positions.

Technology employers actively sponsoring

Amazon UK has grown significantly as a sponsor, driven by continued expansion in e-commerce, logistics, and cloud computing. BT Group actively recruits international graduates and engineers for roles in cybersecurity, AI, and digital infrastructure.

Google UK is a top destination for tech professionals seeking to work on cutting-edge AI, cloud, and data projects. Its global team and commitment to international hiring make it a strong choice for skilled engineers and researchers.

Other consistent technology sponsors include Microsoft, IBM, Capgemini, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HSBC Technology, Lloyds Banking Group Technology, and a large and growing number of UK-based technology startups and scaleups, particularly in London’s Tech City, Manchester, Cambridge, and Edinburgh.

What you need to qualify

Roles must sit at RQF Level 6 (degree equivalent) or appear on the Immigration Salary List. For most software engineering, data science, and cyber security positions, this is not a barrier – these roles are inherently graduate-level. The practical requirement is a relevant degree or demonstrably equivalent experience, strong technical skills aligned to the specific role, and a salary offer that meets or exceeds £41,700.

Industry certifications – AWS, Microsoft Azure, Cisco CCNA, CompTIA, Google Cloud – carry significant weight in technology sponsorship applications. They demonstrate current, relevant competency in a way that an older degree alone may not.

Browse IT and Technology jobs on UKJobsAlert to find current sponsored roles in software, data, and cyber security.

Industry 3: Engineering – Infrastructure, Energy, and Manufacturing

Engineering is the third pillar of UK visa sponsorship, driven by infrastructure expansion, the net zero transition, and persistent shortages in specialist technical talent.

Engineering has expanded beyond traditional disciplines to encompass advanced manufacturing, aerospace, renewable energy, and chip production. Industry leaders have been vocal in calling for special visa routes to attract talent for high-growth areas. The construction sector is pushing for more workers to meet the government’s home-building targets – 100,000 extra workers a year will be needed by 2029. Civil engineers, project managers, mechanical engineers, and specialist technicians remain highly sought after.

Roles in consistent demand

Civil engineers, structural engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, chemical engineers, aerospace engineers, quantity surveyors, project managers with engineering backgrounds, environmental and sustainability specialists, and process engineers across manufacturing and pharmaceuticals all represent strong sponsorship opportunities.

A mechanical engineer from Morocco who secured a job offer in Manchester in 2025 had a starting salary of £42,000 – just above the current threshold. For more experienced engineers, salaries of £50,000-£80,000 are common, with specialist and senior roles reaching higher still.

The renewable energy opportunity

The UK government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan and commitment to net zero by 2050 is creating sustained, long-term demand for engineers with expertise in offshore wind, solar, hydrogen, battery storage, and grid infrastructure. Civil engineering firms prioritise overseas engineers for infrastructure builds nationwide. For engineers with experience in renewable energy or sustainable infrastructure, this is one of the most promising sectors for both immediate sponsorship and long-term career development.

Engineering employers sponsoring internationally

BAE Systems is one of the most prominent engineering sponsors in the UK, particularly in aerospace, defence, and security. BAE Systems looks for specialists who can handle complex tech and security challenges. Other major sponsors include Rolls-Royce, Babcock International, Amey, Atkins (SNC-Lavalin), Mott MacDonald, Jacobs Engineering, Transport for London, Network Rail, and the major utility companies – National Grid, Octopus Energy, and Scottish Power.

Professional registration matters

For engineers seeking senior sponsored roles, professional registration with the Engineering Council – either as an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng) – significantly strengthens your position. Overseas engineering qualifications should be assessed for UK equivalency through Engineering Council routes before you apply.

Browse Engineering jobs on UKJobsAlert to explore sponsored engineering vacancies across all specialisms.

Industry 4: Financial Services – The City’s Global Talent Pipeline

London is one of the world’s most influential financial centres, and the UK financial services sector has a long and established history of recruiting internationally. In 2026, demand for quantitative analysts, compliance specialists, risk managers, and fintech innovators remains strong, and financial institutions continue to push for visa rules that allow them to recruit the best global talent. Employers in this sector are particularly interested in professionals who combine finance and technology expertise.

Top-paying sectors in the UK include investment banking (around £60,000 average starting salary), law (around £56,000), and consulting (around £50,000). These are all well above the £41,700 sponsorship threshold, making financial services one of the most straightforward sectors for meeting salary requirements.

Roles in consistent demand

Quantitative analysts, financial analysts, investment bankers, corporate financiers, risk and compliance professionals, actuaries, chartered accountants, treasury specialists, and fintech engineers and product managers are all actively sponsored. Qualifications including ACCA, CIMA, and CPA are particularly valued by UK financial employers.

The overlap between finance and technology is especially productive. Finance skills taking top priority in 2026 blend deep financial knowledge with AI and digital skills. 45% of businesses say this combination will form the foundation of their financial team growth plans. A candidate who combines chartered accountancy or CFA credentials with data analytics or Python programming skills is exceptionally well positioned for sponsored roles in this sector.

Financial services employers sponsoring internationally

HSBC, Barclays, and major private sector financial institutions are among the most active private sector sponsors in the UK. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, and NatWest Group all hold sponsor licences and have established international recruitment pipelines.

In professional services, the Big Four firms – Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and EY – are consistent sponsors. PwC, EY, and Deloitte all support Skilled Worker visas for some eligible graduate and experienced-hire roles, though sponsorship availability varies by specific vacancy, service line, and office location. Always verify sponsorship availability on individual job listings.

Deloitte UK states it can sponsor candidates who meet visa criteria, offering routes via the Skilled Worker visa and intra-company transfers where applicable.

One caveat on government and civil service roles

It is important to know what is off-limits. The Ministry of Justice, HMRC, and DWP are among the UK’s largest employers, but they do not offer visa sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route. Civil service roles are mostly restricted to UK nationals, Irish citizens, and certain Commonwealth applicants. Do not waste time applying for roles at government departments unless the listing explicitly states sponsorship is available.

Industry 5: Education and Academia – A Specialist but Viable Route

Education offers two quite distinct sponsorship pathways: school teaching in shortage subjects, and academic or research positions at universities.

School teaching

The UK faces persistent teacher shortages in STEM subjects (mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science), modern foreign languages, and special educational needs. For professionals with a strong academic profile, the UK continues to be an excellent destination, though sponsorship is increasingly concentrated in high-demand subject areas.

Qualified teachers from abroad can be sponsored under the Skilled Worker route. Teaching roles in the UK are accessible under the Skilled Worker Visa, with salaries from £28,000 to £60,000 and the main requirements being a recognised teaching qualification and English language proficiency. In England, Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is required to teach in state schools. Teachers from certain countries can apply for QTS recognition directly; others may need to complete additional assessments.

Overseas Trained Teacher (OTT) programmes and international teacher recruitment schemes – particularly those run by individual Multi-Academy Trusts and local authorities – are active recruitment routes. Some independent (private) schools are also licensed sponsors and may be more flexible on the specific route to QTS.

Higher education and research

Universities across the UK are significant and consistent sponsors of academic talent. Lecturers, researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and research scientists can be sponsored under the Skilled Worker route, with specific salary thresholds for academic positions often assessed against the relevant university pay scale.

Research or academic leaders may apply for the UK Global Talent visa, which has no minimum salary requirements and is specifically designed for individuals who are already internationally recognised leaders or have the potential to become leaders in their field. This route is available for science, engineering, humanities, social sciences, medicine, digital technology, and arts and culture. It is highly competitive but offers significant flexibility, including the ability to work for multiple employers or institutions simultaneously.

For postdoctoral researchers, those working in postdoctoral positions in certain science or higher education roles can be paid 70% of the standard going rate for their job, provided the role falls within specific occupation codes. This is one of the few remaining salary discount provisions available in the current system and makes early-career academic sponsorship more financially accessible for qualifying institutions.

Industry 6: Construction – Growing but Selective

Construction is not traditionally listed among the top sponsorship industries, but the combination of the UK government’s ambitious housing targets and major infrastructure projects is changing that picture.

The construction sector is pushing for more workers to meet the government’s home-building targets – 100,000 extra workers a year will be needed by 2029. Senior roles in construction – quantity surveyors, project managers, site managers, structural and civil engineers, and senior contract managers – meet both the salary and qualification thresholds for sponsorship.

Note that many traditional trade roles in construction – bricklayers, plasterers, carpenters – were removed from sponsorship eligibility when the skills threshold moved to RQF Level 6 in July 2025. Construction sponsorship in 2026 is primarily available for qualified, degree-level professionals in project, commercial, and technical management roles rather than for the trades themselves.

Browse Construction and Trades jobs on UKJobsAlert to explore current vacancies in this sector.

Sponsored Roles by Sector: Salary Guide

Sources: NHS Employers, Reed Salary Guide 2025/26, UK Visa Jobs, Skilled Worker visa guidance GOV.UK

How to Find and Verify a Legitimate UK Sponsor

Between July 2024 and June 2025, the Home Office revoked 1,948 sponsor licences – a 396% increase from revocations in 2022-2023. Common reasons include inadequate record-keeping, late reporting, salary underpayment, and employing workers without proper right-to-work checks. The implication for job seekers is clear: you need to verify any potential sponsor’s licence status before investing significant time and effort in an application.

The UK government maintains a publicly available list of all currently licensed sponsors. You can search it at gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers. Search by employer name, check that the licence is listed as “active,” and confirm the licence covers the route you need (Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, etc.).

Look for the following indicators of a genuine, well-run sponsor: clear mention of visa sponsorship in the job listing itself, an HR or recruitment team that can answer specific questions about the sponsorship process, salary offers that clearly meet or exceed the applicable threshold for the role, and a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) offered as part of the employment contract rather than as an afterthought.

Be cautious about any employer who asks you to pay for your own visa fees or Certificate of Sponsorship costs. Certificate of sponsorship costs should be paid by the sponsor and not passed on to the individual. Employers who attempt to recoup visa costs through repayment clauses may create complications with your visa eligibility.

Regional Sponsorship Opportunities Beyond London

A common misconception is that visa sponsorship is essentially a London story. It is not. Manchester offers over 500 visa-sponsored roles, with the tech sector growing at 12% annually. Birmingham serves as a hub for engineering, manufacturing, and healthcare sponsorship. Edinburgh has strong finance and technology sectors with a median salary of around £38,315.

Regional cities like Manchester and Birmingham are growing almost as fast as London in terms of employment opportunities, and sometimes with lower competition. A £42,000 salary in Manchester or Birmingham offers a significantly better cost-of-living ratio than the same salary in London.

For healthcare professionals, sponsored roles are distributed across every region of the UK. NHS trusts in the North of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all hold sponsor licences and actively recruit internationally. For technology professionals, Cambridge and Oxford have thriving tech and biotech ecosystems with active international recruitment. Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow, and Newcastle all have growing tech sectors with sponsored opportunities.

The practical advantage of targeting regional cities is that competition for sponsored roles is often lower than in London, employers may be more willing to invest in relocation support, and the salary-to-living-cost ratio frequently makes regional offers financially attractive even when the gross salary figure is modestly lower.

How to Position Yourself for a Sponsored UK Role

Knowing which sectors sponsor is only the first step. Positioning yourself competitively within those sectors requires deliberate preparation.

Meet the salary threshold with room to spare. Success requires targeting roles paying at least £45,000-£50,000 to ensure compliance, given that the general threshold is £41,700 and going rates for many occupations are higher. Entry-level roles rarely qualify unless you have the new-entrant discount available (under 26, or switching from a Student visa).

Ensure your qualifications are formally recognised. For healthcare, register with the NMC, GMC, HCPC, or GPhC as appropriate to your profession before applying. For engineering, an Engineering Council assessment of your overseas qualification is valuable. For teaching, investigate QTS recognition. For accountancy, establish whether your overseas qualification grants membership of ICAEW, ACCA, or CIMA.

Build your English language evidence. From 8 January 2026, new Skilled Worker applicants must demonstrate English at B2 level. If you have not yet done so, sit an approved test – IELTS Academic, IELTS UKVI, OET (for healthcare), or Pearson Test of English Academic. A B2 score corresponds to IELTS 5.5-6.5 depending on the specific sub-test. Build in time to prepare and retake if necessary.

Target companies with established international recruitment pipelines. Large employers with dedicated HR functions and established international hiring track records are significantly easier to work with than smaller employers navigating sponsorship for the first time. That does not mean small employers are not worth targeting – but with a large employer, you are far less likely to encounter unexpected delays or complications caused by internal unfamiliarity with the sponsorship process.

Apply early and be application-ready. Be application-ready: prepare your CV to UK standards, get your degree verified, and apply early to licensed sponsors. Have your National Insurance number, overseas qualification certificates, professional registration documents, English language test results, and bank statements (showing £1,270 available for at least 28 days) ready before you begin applying. Delays in providing documentation can cause Certificate of Sponsorship issues that jeopardise your application at the last moment.

Set up job alerts on UKJobsAlert in your target sector to be notified of sponsored vacancies as soon as they are posted – early applications matter in competitive sponsorship markets.

What the 2026 Rule Changes Mean for Your Timeline

The end of 2026 represents a genuine deadline for some candidates. The Temporary Shortage List – which currently provides limited access to sponsorship for some mid-skilled RQF Level 3-5 roles – faces the same December 2026 deadline pending Migration Advisory Committee review. If you work in a role that currently benefits from TSL exceptions, applying before December 2026 rather than after is strongly advisable.

The Immigration Salary List expires by December 2026, potentially ending remaining salary discounts for eligible roles. After this date, the expectation is that all sponsored roles will need to meet the full £41,700 threshold without the current ISL concessions. Workers in healthcare and education who currently benefit from national pay scale exceptions should also monitor how the removal of the ISL affects their specific occupation codes.

From April 2026, the proposed settlement qualifying period may extend to 10-15 years for most workers, with accelerated pathways only for high earners. If achieving permanent residence in the UK is a long-term goal, taking advice from a regulated immigration adviser about how these proposed changes affect your specific circumstances is worth doing now rather than later.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking UK Sponsorship

Applying to employers without verifying their sponsor licence. Always check the government register before investing time in an application. A company can claim to offer sponsorship without holding a valid licence.

Targeting roles below the salary threshold. An offer of £38,000 sounds reasonable – until you realise it falls below the £41,700 threshold and the employer cannot legally sponsor you at that rate. Always confirm the salary aligns with both the general threshold and the going rate for the specific SOC code before accepting any offer.

Confusing social care eligibility with NHS healthcare eligibility. The social care visa route is now closed to new applicants. NHS clinical roles remain fully open. These are fundamentally different routes and the closure of one does not affect the other.

Underestimating the importance of professional registration. For healthcare, engineering, and teaching, professional registration with the relevant UK body is not optional – it is a condition of eligibility for sponsorship. Start the registration process as early as possible, as it typically takes months.

Neglecting the English language requirement upgrade. The move from B1 to B2 from January 2026 catches some candidates by surprise. If your existing English language test result only meets B1 and it was taken for a previous application, it may not be accepted for a new Skilled Worker visa application. Check whether you need to resit.

Relying on the Graduate visa as a permanent plan. From January 2027, the length of the Graduate visa will reduce from two years to 18 months (three years for PhD graduates remains unchanged). If you are currently on a Graduate visa and planning to transition to a Skilled Worker visa, the timeline for securing a sponsored role is shorter than it may appear.

5. FAQs

Q: Which industry has the most visa sponsorship jobs in the UK?

A: Healthcare consistently offers the highest volume of sponsored jobs in the UK. The NHS alone employs approximately 1.51 million people, 21% of whom in England are non-UK nationals. In the year ending June 2024, over 89,000 work visas were granted specifically to healthcare workers under the Health and Care Worker Visa. Technology, engineering, and financial services follow with significant and consistent sponsorship volumes. For sheer number of available sponsored roles, healthcare is unmatched.

Q: What is the minimum salary for a UK Skilled Worker visa in 2026?

A: From 22 July 2025, the general minimum salary for new Skilled Worker visa applicants is £41,700 per year, or the going rate for the specific role as determined by its Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code – whichever is higher. Some exceptions apply: candidates aged under 26, recent graduates switching from a Student visa, PhD holders, and roles on the Immigration Salary List may qualify at lower thresholds of £33,400-£37,500. Healthcare and education roles are assessed under their own national pay scale frameworks, typically from £25,000 upwards.

Q: Can I get UK visa sponsorship in IT without a degree?

A: The July 2025 immigration reforms raised the minimum skill level for Skilled Worker sponsorship to RQF Level 6 – equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. For technology roles, this means most standard software engineering, data science, and cyber security positions require a degree-level qualification. However, demonstrably equivalent experience and strong professional certifications (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Cisco, CompTIA) are considered by many sponsors, particularly for senior or specialist roles where the practical value of your skills is clear. If you hold a Graduate visa, you can work in any role without sponsorship during that period, which can be used to build the UK experience and employer relationships that lead to a sponsored Skilled Worker role later.

Q: Is UK visa sponsorship available outside London?

A: Yes, and the regional market is often more accessible than London for sponsored candidates. Manchester has over 500 sponsored roles with a growing tech sector. Birmingham is a hub for engineering, manufacturing, and healthcare sponsorship. Edinburgh offers strong finance and technology opportunities. NHS trusts in every region of the UK hold sponsor licences and actively recruit internationally. Regional roles often involve less competition than London equivalents and frequently offer better salary-to-living-cost ratios.

Q: How do I verify that a UK employer is a genuine sponsor?

A: Check the UK government’s official register of licensed sponsors, available at gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers. Search for the employer by name and confirm their licence is listed as active. Look for explicit mention of sponsorship in the job listing, a salary that clearly meets the applicable threshold, and an HR team that can answer questions about the Certificate of Sponsorship process. Be cautious about any employer who asks you to contribute to visa or sponsorship fees – the Certificate of Sponsorship cost must be paid by the employer, not the worker.

Q: What has changed for healthcare sponsorship in 2026?

A: The most significant change for healthcare is the closure of the social care worker visa route to new applicants from July 2025. Care workers (SOC 6135) and senior care workers (SOC 6136) can no longer make new visa applications, though a transition period applies until July 2028 for extensions and switches. NHS clinical roles – doctors, nurses, allied health professionals – remain fully open under the Health and Care Worker Visa, which continues to offer reduced fees, exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge, and faster processing. The general salary threshold for healthcare sponsorship starts at £25,000 for roles assessed under national pay scale frameworks.

Q: Is the Graduate visa a good route into sponsored employment in the UK?

A: Yes, for international graduates of UK universities, the Graduate visa is one of the best routes into sponsored employment. It allows two years of unrestricted work (three years for PhD graduates) without needing an employer to sponsor you. This gives you time to build UK work experience, secure a UK professional reference, and transition to a Skilled Worker visa once you have a qualifying job offer. From January 2027, the Graduate visa duration reduces from two years to 18 months for non-PhD graduates, making it important to begin your sponsored job search early in your Graduate visa period rather than treating the full duration as available buffer time.

Q: What English language level do I need for a UK Skilled Worker visa in 2026?

A: From 8 January 2026, new Skilled Worker visa applicants must demonstrate English proficiency at B2 level across all four skills – reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This replaced the previous B1 requirement. Accepted tests include IELTS UKVI, Pearson Test of English Academic, and OET (for healthcare workers). B2 is equivalent to IELTS 5.5-6.5 depending on the component. Nationals of majority English-speaking countries and those with degrees taught in English may be exempt from taking a test – check the GOV.UK guidance for the full list of exemptions applicable to your situation.