Skilled Worker Route & Senior or Specialist Worker Route Compared
In This Article
1. Understanding the Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker Routes
2. An Overview of the Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker Routes
3. Key Similarities Between the Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker Routes
4. Key Differences Between the Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker Routes
5. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
6. Frequently Asked Questions
7. Glossary
1. Understanding the Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker Routes
If you are a business seeking to sponsor migrants to work for you in the UK – or if you are a migrant seeking to undertake sponsored work in the UK – you might notice that there are two routes with similar-sounding names: the “Skilled Worker” route and the “Senior or Specialist Worker” route.
This is the first of two articles considering the “Skilled Worker” and “Senior or Specialist Worker” (SSW) routes together. This article examines the key similarities and differences between the two routes. The second article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each route, both from the perspective of the sponsoring business and the sponsored migrant.
2. An Overview of the Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker Routes
The Skilled Worker route is a sponsored work route for migrants who have an offer to undertake an eligible “skilled” job in the UK. The list of eligible jobs is set out in Appendix Skilled Occupations to the Immigration Rules. The job offer must come from a Sponsor that has been “authorised” by the Home Office to sponsor migrants for the relevant job – i.e. the Sponsor holds a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence.
The Senior or Specialist Worker (SSW) route – previously called the “Intra-Company Transfer route” – is one of five “Global Business Mobility” routes. The SSW route is for senior managers and specialist employees who are working for an overseas employer, and who wish to undertake a temporary work assignment with a UK business that is “linked” to their overseas employer. Again, the sponsoring entity in the UK must be authorised by the Home Office – i.e. it must hold a Sponsor Licence for the SSW route.
3. Key Similarities Between the Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker Routes
Both the Skilled Worker route and SSW route require the sponsoring business to hold a valid Sponsor Licence. The application process is largely identical for both types of Sponsor Licence: the business must complete the online application form, pay the application fee, and submit supporting evidence as specified in Appendix A to the Sponsor guidance.
While there are some additional requirements for a SSW Sponsor Licence (discussed below), both types of Sponsor Licence require the sponsoring business to show that it is a genuine organisation with a lawful operating or trading presence in the UK, that it has the human resources and recruitment systems in place to meet its Sponsor duties, that it has nominated Key Personnel who are suitable and eligible, and that it can can offer genuine employment which meets the route’s skill level and salary requirements.
Once the business has been granted a Sponsor Licence and has been “allocated” the right type(s) of Certificate of Sponsorship by the Home Office (see further below), the business can “assign” the Certificate to the proposed migrant. The migrant can then make their immigration application for permission as a Skilled Worker or as a SSW.
At the immigration application stage, many of the requirements are similar for the two routes. These include the following:
- The migrant must have been allocated a valid Certificate of Sponsorship by the sponsoring business for the relevant job;
- The relevant job must be genuine;
- The relevant job must be at an “appropriate” skill level – i.e. the job must fall under an eligible occupation code for the relevant route;
- The migrant must have the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job;
- The migrant must be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both: (i) the general salary threshold for the relevant route, and (ii) the applicable “going rate” for the particular role;
- The migrant must be able to support themself without relying on public funds.
In the Skilled Worker route, a migrant will be granted permission until 14 days after the end date as stated on their Certificate of Sponsorship; the end date for a sponsored role can be up to a maximum of five years after the start date stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship. Similarly, in the SSW route, a migrant can be granted permission for up to five years after the start date of the job as stated on their Certificate of Sponsorship, subject to a cap on cumulative years of permission in the route (discussed below).
In both routes, a migrant can apply to bring a dependent partner and/or dependent children with them to the UK.
4. Key Differences Between the Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker Routes
The following considers eight key differences between the routes.
A. Migrant Is Already Working for the Sponsor Group
First, a proposed migrant in the SSW route must already be working “for the sponsor group” – i.e. for an overseas business that is linked to the sponsoring business by either “common ownership or control” or by a joint venture agreement. When applying for a SSW Sponsor Licence, the sponsoring business must therefore provide details of the linked overseas business, and provide documentary evidence of this link. The accepted forms of link include (but are not limited to) the following:
- One entity controls the composition of the other entity’s board;
- One entity through its shareholding holds the majority of voting rights in the other entity;
- The two entities have a common parent entity, and the parent entity meets one of the above options regarding control of board composition or majority voting rights;
- The two entities are related through being party to a joint venture agreement.
B. Previous Employment Requirements
Second, a proposed migrant in the SSW route must have worked outside the UK for the sponsor group for a cumulative period of at least 12 months. The 12 months’ work outside the UK need not have been immediately before the application, nor do the 12 months need to have been consecutive. It is sufficient if: (i) the proposed migrant was working continuously for the sponsor group (whether in the UK or overseas) in the 12 months before the date of application, (ii) the proposed migrant is still working for the sponsor group (whether in the UK or overseas) at the date of application, and (iii) the proposed migrant has overall spent 12 months working for the sponsor group outside the UK.
However, the 12-month rule is not applicable if the proposed migrant is a “high earner” – i.e. if the proposed migrant will be sponsored in a job with a salary of at least £73,900 (based on a maximum of 48 hours per week). Such migrants must be working for the sponsor group at the date of application, but there is no requirement for them to have worked outside the UK for the sponsor group for any particular period of time.
In contrast, there is no requirement for proposed migrants in the Skilled Worker route to be working for any particular employer or in any particular role – or even to be working at all – at the date of application. The only relevant requirements are that the job is genuine and at an appropriate skill level, and that the migrant has the appropriate skills, qualifications or experience to undertake the job.
C. Certificates of Sponsorship
Third, when a business is applying for a Sponsor Licence, the application form requires it to estimate the number of “Undefined” Certificates of Sponsorship (UCoS) that it wants to be “allocated” for its first year as a licensed Sponsor. The Home Office then allocates the business its first year’s worth of UCoS at the time of granting the Sponsor Licence. Each subsequent year, the business must request an annual allocation of UCoS for the following year.
For the Skilled Worker route, UCoS are assigned to migrants who will apply for Skilled Worker permission from inside the UK – i.e. permission to stay in the UK as a Skilled Worker. Conversely, if the proposed migrant is applying from outside the UK – i.e. for permission to enter the UK as a Skilled Worker – the business cannot assign them a UCoS. Instead, the business will have to separately request a “Defined” Certificate of Sponsorship (DCoS) allocation, specifically for that particular migrant. DCoS allocation requests typically take 24-48 hours to be processed and, once the business has been allocated the DCoS by the Home Office, it can assign the DCoS to the migrant; the DCoS cannot be assigned to any other migrant.
For the SSW route, proposed migrants are assigned a UCoS from the business’s annual UCoS allocation, regardless of whether they are applying for permission from inside or outside the UK. This means that a business with a SSW Sponsor Licence will never need to make any separate DCoS allocation requests.
D. Eligible Occupation Codes
Fourth, as the SSW route is for “senior managers and specialist employees”, there are fewer roles that are eligible for SSW sponsorship compared to the Skilled Worker route. Appendix Skilled Occupations lists the occupation codes under which migrants can be sponsored in the Skilled Worker and the SSW routes – the latter are indicated as “eligible for GBM”. The Home Office has also separately listed eligible occupation codes for Global Business Mobility routes.
E. Salary Thresholds
Fifth, while the individualised “going rates” for each occupation code are the same regardless of whether a migrant will be sponsored in the Skilled Worker route or the SSW route, the “general salary threshold” is different for the two routes.
For Skilled Workers, the general salary threshold is currently £38,700 per annum for most occupation codes, or lower if the proposed migrant scores “tradeable points”.
The general salary threshold for the SSW route is higher, currently standing at £48,500 per annum.
F. English Language Requirements
Sixth, migrants in the Skilled Worker route must demonstrate English language ability to at least Level B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in all four components (reading, writing, speaking, listening).
Conversely, there is no English language requirement for the SSW route.
G. Supplementary Employment
Seventh, Skilled Workers are permitted to undertake “supplementary employment”, providing they continue to work in their sponsored role.
Conversely, migrants in the SSW route can only undertake supplementary employment if they were previously granted permission on the Intra-Company routes under the old rules in force before 11 April 2022.
H. Maximum Time Limits and Eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain
Eighth, unlike the old Tier 2 (General Route), there is no cap on how long migrants can hold permission as a Skilled Worker. The Skilled Worker route is also a 5-year route to settlement (or “Indefinite Leave to Remain”).
Conversely, there is a cap on the total length of time that a migrant can hold permission in the SSW route (and/or under the old Intra-Company routes). For “high earners” (i.e. annual salary of £73,900), migrants can only hold permission as a SSW for up to a total of 9 years in any 10-year period. For those who are not “high earners”, migrants can only hold permission as a SSW for up to a total of 5 years in any 6-year period.
Further, the SSW route is for “temporary” assignments, and is therefore not a route to settlement, no matter how many years a migrant spends in the route.
5. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
For expert advice regarding Sponsor Licences and work-related visas, contact our immigration barristers on 0203 617 9173 or complete our enquiry form below.
