General

In order to hire a non-EU citizen and obtain a work permit, a company must demonstrate that he or she has a certain set of required skills and they do not have EU candidates for the position.

It is not impossible to satisfy these conditions, but some smaller firms are simply not willing to make the effort as they are typically not short of candidates and the approval process can take 4-6 months. For senior management, IT professionals and other highly qualified positions, the conditions are much easier to fulfil and an application properly handled with the sponsorship of the employer can be processed quicker.

Work Permit

Unless you are an EU/EEA or Swiss national if you intend to work in the UK, you will probably need a work permit. The exceptions to this rule are extremely diverse (e.g. artists, innovators, religious ministers and au pairs are all exempt from requiring a work permit). If you think you may be in ‘permit-free’ category, it is worth looking at the detailed list from www.workpermits.gov.uk.

Note: The following countries are members of the European Economic Area:

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Applying for a Work Permit

A UK employer wishing to employ someone needs to apply for the work permit. Applications are dealt with by the Home Office, which is the British government department responsible for their issue. It is recommended that the employer applies at least eight weeks ahead of the date from which the employee is required to start work. Supporting documentation will be required, such as evidence of the candidate’s relevant qualifications and experience for the job.

A foreign national may not convert his/her immigration status from visitor to work permit status while remaining in the UK. Although the foreign national can be in the UK as a visitor during the work permit application process, he/she may not start working on the basis of that work permit until he/she has departed the UK and re-entered with the appropriate immigration permission.