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Visas & Work Permits
Working in the UK (in association with our partners at www.skillclear.com)
Who can and who can't work and live in the UK?
Permanent Residents of the UK and British and European Nationals [EEA] do not need to apply for the right to work in the UK. Mostly all others will need to ensure that they have this right to work, study or live in the UK and there are many ways in which this can be achieved. The key issue for you is that you know your status and can obtain this right as quickly and certainly as possible.
The most common way to obtain this right to work is by obtaining one of the many types of work permit or permit free employment available. These include permits for those who have been offered a job ; for those who have not had such an offer but are of a highly skilled and experienced nature ; those who are British Commonwealth citizens under 31 years old ; those working as Ministers of Religion, for International Press, as Postgraduate Doctors or Dentists, Overseas Governments and many more.
There are many other ways to enable you to legally live and work in the UK including those who have UK or EU partners, those who may have British or Irish Ancestry and others.
It is a common fact that too many opportunities are lost due to lack of awareness of your options.
Employers and Recruiters miss out on ther people they need and Candidates miss out on their ideal job because of lack of information and help. It is also a fact that these opportunities are sometimes avoided because it is felt that too much extra work and admin is required to make it happen. Actually, all it takes is an email or a phone call to give you an idea about such matters and after that, there is either little or no extra work. That is what our partners at SkillClear do for you.
General Information for UK Immigration, Work Permits and Visas.
Work permit schemes were originally designed to ensure that non-EEA nationals did not compete with the resident labour force. However, in today's market, with relatively low unemployment, the Government is more focused on working with British Industry to make it stronger, especially in areas that demand skills that are officially considered to be in short supply - notably IT, telecommunications, engineering, teaching and medicine. Even so, foreign candidates must show themselves to be ideal for a position that has proved difficult to fill with local workers. In areas of occupation shortages, advertising is not required, nor is it required for board level roles, transfers from your overseas company to the UK, those with previous work permits in the same field and those that are coming with investment. In addition, the new Sectors Based Scheme allows lesser skilled people obtain a work permit such as in the Hospitality Industry (Chefs, Waiters etc) and the Meat Packing Industry. This is a quota based scheme renewed annually.
Only an employer can apply for a work permit. It remains specific to one role and does not cover a transfer to another position within the company or a move to another although doing this can be easier if required. There are many routes of entry if you work as a contractor or want to work as a business visitor, on an advisory or consulting basis.
Permit Free Employment is another very useful way to enter the UK to work - it still requires providing documented details of candidate and role but is relatively a more simple process. It is not a work permit as such, it is a visa that allows work in specific categories.
For Commonwealth citizens, the Working Holiday Scheme can allow a 2 years visit to the UK to work and/or holiday if you are under 31 years of age and is an ideal way to minimise some of the other permit and visa headaches that can crop up.
The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme is a great development in recent years and allows those skilled individuals to obtain a one year full work visa for the UK without the need for a job offer first. It overcomes most of the hurdles commonly encountered. For instance, a recruitment company cannot sponsor a work permit for those it wishes to place. So now, as an agency, all you need to do is obtain this HSMP visa for your best people and you can contyract them out and place them permanently WITH the right to work. For individuals, you can come to the UK to look for work. If you find it, I am sure you are used to an employer asking you if you have a work permit. Well now your answer is 'Yes'. You can take that job without your new employer needing to do anything different to taking on a UK national.
People who have UK or Irish grandparents may also be able to obtain the right to work.
For all above categories, your family can come too if they are under 18 and dependant on you. Your parents and grandparents may also be able to accompany you depending on their particulars.
Before you make a decision that any candidate or opportunity is not for you, why not look at all of your options first. There are probably more than you think. This is important to you.
Make sure you are fully informed or a placement, a great employee or a great job may just slip past.
This information has been supplied in association with our partners at SkillClear - Immigration, Work Permit and Visa Consultants.
Working Holiday Visa
This is a visa designed for people between the ages of 18 and 30. It allows entry into the UK for two years allowing you to work for 12 months and to travel for 12 months.You can work pretty much anywhere you want within the UK under the Working Holiday Visa (WHV), though employment is meant to be incidental to your holiday. This, however, does not rule out taking up employment in your chosen profession, making a working holiday in the UK a potential CV-booster, and increasing your earning possibilities.
Who can apply?
The scheme is open to citizens aged 17 to 30 of all Commonwealth countries (except Lesotho). You’ll need to prove you have enough money to support yourself for at least two months, including paying for an onward ticket, and if you’re married or in a civil partnership your spouse or partner must also be coming to the UK under the WHV scheme. You may bring your children with you, so long as they will have left the UK before they turn five. You can only get a WHV visa once, however if you have been approved for the visa but do not enter the UK on it before it expires, you can apply for another one. How to apply? You can generally only apply from your home country, and you can apply up to three months before you intend to travel. For more information contact the British High Commission in your country or visit www.britishhighcommission.gov.uk.
Requirements
You will need to make your application online or fill in the visa application form: You will also need the following: Your passport or travel document.
A recent passport-sized (45mm x 35mm) colour photograph of yourself. This should be: taken against a light-coloured background clear and of good quality, and not framed or backed printed on normal photographic paper, and full face and without sunglasses, hat or other head covering unless you wear this for cultural or religious reasons.
The visa fee. This cannot be refunded and you must normally pay it in the local currency of the country where you are applying. You may also need to provide evidence of: how much money you have, and any travel plans you have made, such as a provisional travel booking.
also
A tuberculoses X-Ray with a letter from your doctor confirming that you are clear. If you don’t have this you may need to get this done at the airport.
Please be sure to check the official website for a complete list of requirements.
Frequently asked questions
What does 12 months’ work consist of? Do holidays, weekend or sick days get added on to the 12 months?
According to the Home Office, however long or short the period of employment with a particular employer, the maximum 12-month period of permitted work is calculated on the basis of the total period spent in employment — including weekends and leave of absence, e.g. sick leave, annual leave and bank holidays that occur during a period of employment — not on the basis of the actual number of days worked. Any days off beyond 20 per annum can be worked on top of the 12 months. Do you get more than 12 months if only working part-time or casual hours? Yes. You can work part-time (up to 20 hours per week) for the whole two years, or full-time for one year. In theory, if you wished to work 16-hour days, seven days a week over the 12 months, would this be within the rules? While the working holiday regulations do not specify a maximum total number of hours worked, there is a requirement that your work is incidental to your holiday. It would be difficult to reconcile a sustained pattern of 85-hour weeks with this requirement.
How is the 12-month restriction policed? I’ve heard that the different government departments (e.g. HMRC and Immigration) don’t talk to each other, so won’t know if I’ve broken the rules.
Don’t assume that this will be the case. If the authorities really want to look, you may very well be found out and action taken.
Other Visa & Work Permits for the United Kingdom
The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme
The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) allows you to work unrestricted in the UK. Unlike the work permit, you do not need a job offer to apply for this visa, making it popular with people looking to stay on in the UK. Initially you are given leave to remain in the UK for two years, after which you can apply for an extension that would give you a further three years. HSMP is a points-based system and you will acquire points based on factors such as age, education, experience and past earnings. There have been changes recently for this type of visa.
Work permits
Your prospective employer must apply for the work permit on your behalf, and they will need to show that they can’t find a suitable person to do the job from within the EU or that the role is in a skills shortage area. A work permit enables you to work in the UK in that particular job and company for which you have been sponsored. If you wish to change jobs, you would need to get another work permit. A work permit can be issued for up to five years. If you are in the UK and switching from a WHV, you can only switch to a work permit if you have been in the UK for 12 months and the occupation you are applying under is listed as a shortage one. You will need to have a job offer that you are qualified for and capable of doing, though note that experience gained while on a WHV may not count towards this. However, not everyone can apply for Further Leave to Remain. If you are not allowed to switch your status to work permit holder, you should not submit your passport to the Home Office. Most people who have WHV status need to return home once their work permit has been approved to obtain entry clearance/visa to return to the UK as a work permit holder. Visit www.workingintheuk.gov.uk.
Ancestry visas
Commonwealth citizens aged 17 or over who have a grandparent born in the UK (or the Republic of Ireland before March 31, 1922), are eligible to apply. You will also need to show evidence that you intend to work in the UK. An ancestry visa allows you to enter the UK and work without restrictions. It is usually valid for five years, and can be renewed as many times as you want. You can’t apply for an ancestry visa from within the UK, although extensions can be granted through the Home Office. Contact the British High Commission in your country. Visit www.britishhighcommission.gov.uk.
British passports
Your best option! If you can get one you will be able to work wherever and whenever in the UK as well as most of Europe. If you were born in the UK, the chances are very good that you can get one; likewise if your father was born in the UK, and he was married to your mother (illegitimate children are only able to claim via their father if they were born after July 1 2006), you’ll also stand a good chance of being able to claim British citizenship. If you want to claim through a British-born mother, you can do this if you were born after January 1, 1983. If you were born before that, you will first need to register as a British citizen using Form UKM, then you should be able to apply for a passport. Visit www.passport.gov.uk for more details.
EU passports
Citizens of the EU member states, as well as those from Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are free to come to the UK and work unrestricted. Those from new EU member states may, however, need to register their employment. If your parents were born in an EU country, you may be entitled to citizenship of that country. Student visas Student visas are mostly an option for those wanting to stay after their working holidays have finished. Student visas are available for those on approved courses (http://www.dfes.gov.uk/providerregister). Courses must be full-time (correspondence and evening courses do not count) and, unless you are on a degree course, you must intend to leave the UK when you have finished the course. If your course runs for six months or more, you may work for up to 20 hours a week.
Getting Started 
