Skilled Worker

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This Overview directs practitioners to core materials on the Skilled Worker route, including the Immigration Rules, sponsor guidance and compliance resources. The route is the principal mechanism for non‑UK nationals to undertake skilled employment in the UK and is central to workforce planning and regulatory risk for sponsors.

Practitioners should be familiar with Appendix Skilled Worker, related appendices on salary and occupations, and suitability provisions in Part 9. Key issues include securing and maintaining a sponsor licence; assigning Certificates of Sponsorship via the Sponsor Management System; evidencing skill level, English language and maintenance; and meeting salary thresholds and 'going rate' requirements, including tradable points and occupation‑specific rules. Home Office/UKVI supervision, audit and enforcement powers, and sponsor duties on reporting, record‑keeping and genuineness assessments, are critical.

Advisers must consider the Immigration Skills Charge, the Immigration Health Surcharge, right to work compliance under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, and implications of restructurings, TUPE and changes in ownership or work location. Recent reforms to salary thresholds and the introduction of the Immigration Salary List require careful attention to transitional arrangements. Applications, switching, dependants and settlement after five years raise procedural...

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Are there any restrictions on a Skilled Worker owning shares in a sponsor company? Eg, can they be a

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Strike out—making an application to strike out a statement of caseA strike out order can be made either following an application by the parties or on the court's own initiative. This Practice Note deals with the scenario of the order being made following a party's application.Making an application