UK Skilled Worker Visa for US Citizens

As a US citizen, you may be eligible for a Skilled Worker Visa if you have a job offer from a UK employer who holds a valid Sponsor Licence.

There are several other requirements that you will need to meet in order to apply. These include:

• Be over the age of 18
• Hold a Certificate of Sponsorship for the job you have been offered
• Have a job offer of the appropriate skill level of at least RQF level 3
• Meet the minimum salary threshold or going rate for the type of work you will be doing
• Prove you can financially support yourself whilst in the UK
• Provide a criminal record certificate

Unlike nationals of some countries, US citizens are not required to demonstrate their knowledge of the English language, so are exempt from this requirement.

You must apply for the Skilled Worker Visa whilst you are still in the USA, unless you are already resident in the UK on a different visa type, in which case you may be eligible to switch to a UK work visa from within the UK.

You can apply for a visa to work in the UK using the application form available on the gov.uk website. During the application you will need to provide the following:

• Your Certificate of Sponsorship reference number, as provided by your employer
• A valid passport or other valid form of ID
• Your job title and annual salary
• Your jobs occupation code
• The name of your prospective employer and their sponsor license number, as found on your Certificate of Sponsorship

You will also need to prove that you can meet the requirements by submitting supporting evidence. Depending on your specific circumstances, you may need to provide:

• Evidence that you have enough personal savings to support yourself in the UK, for example bank statements
• A criminal record certificate – if you’re working in certain jobs
• a valid ATAS certificate if your employer tells you that you need one because your job involves researching a sensitive subject at PhD level or higher
• your UK PhD certificate, or your unique Ecctis reference number if your qualification is from outside the UK
• Proof of your relationship with your partner or children if they’re applying with you

During the application process, you are also required to prove your identity. To do this you’ll either need to have your fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application center, this is to get a biometric residence permit, or you can use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document.

Skilled workers can bring their family members with them to the UK. Eligible dependents that you can bring with you include your partner and children.

A partner includes your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner. You will need to prove that you are either in a marriage or civil partnership that is recognised in the UK or that you have lived together in a relationship for at least 2 years at the time of your visa application.

You can bring children who are under the age of 18 as well as children over the age of 18 if they are currently in the UK as your dependent. If your child is over the age of 16 they cannot be living an independent life, this means that must be living with you (unless in full time education), must not be married, and must be financially supported by you.

If you plan to bring family members with you from the US you must demonstrate that you can financially support them whilst they are in the UK. This means providing evidence of adequate funds, which currently are £285 for your partner, £315 for one child, and £200 for each additional child.

Each family member will need to submit a separate application and pay a separate application fee.