Visas and Immigration: Job Applicants

There a number of different visa options available for those wishing to live and work in the UK. You can check whether you need a UK visa by using GOV.UK.

Click on the visa types below for more information.

A Skilled Worker Visa allows an individual to live and work in the UK whilst carrying out an eligible job with an approved employer (sponsor).

Not all roles are eligible for sponsorship, determined by the nature of the work, the skill level and or/the salary. Our job adverts will detail whether the role may be eligible for sponsorship. If the role is likely to be eligible, we recommend that you assess your individual eligibility before applying for the position. Find out more about the Skilled Worker visa on the GOV.UK website.

Eligibility criteria  

To be eligible for a Skilled Worker Visa, you must score a minimum of 70 points, split into mandatory (“non-tradeable”) points and “tradeable” points.

Job offer from an eligible sponsor

You will receive these points as soon as the offer has been made. The HR Team will issue their conditional offer letter and contract before the Certificate of Sponsor (CoS) is assigned.
Points awarded: 20

Job at appropriate skill level

The job must be in an eligible occupation code; this will be assessed by the Recruitment Team.
Points awarded: 20

English language requirement

You must meet the English Language Requirement (Level B1 or higher). You can evidence this in several ways.
Points awarded: 10

Total: 50 points

You must also score a further 20 “tradeable” points, based on:

  • the salary being offered; 
  • other criteria if required and applicable (e.g. relevant academic qualifications, sponsored to work in a role on the shortage occupation list, if you are a ‘new entrant’ to the UK's labour market)

Find out more about English language requirements on the GOV.UK website.

ATAS certificate 

You will require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate if your role involves research at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects.

The Recruitment Team will be in touch with the next steps should this apply to you

UK ENIC certificate

You can apply for a UK ENIC certificate in support of your visa application; you will need to do this if:

  • You are using your PhD as a tradeable point, and it was issued by an overseas institution;
  • You have an academic degree taught in English, but it was awarded by an overseas institution, and you would like to use this to satisfy the English Language Requirement.

Visit Ecctis for more information and to apply for your ENIC certificate, if applicable. You will need to send your UK ENIC reference number when asked so that we can include this on your Certificate of Sponsor (CoS).

Process

Once you have been offered a position at our University, our Recruitment Team will be in touch to discuss whether you meet the required number of points for sponsorship. Once you have accepted a formal offer of employment, Human Resources (HR) will initiate the onboarding process via our recruitment portal.

As part of the process, we may need to ask you to confirm how you will meet the points criteria for sponsorship, including how you will meet the English Language Requirements. We will also ask you to provide the relevant documentation to support your application, such as your passport and any current visa, your qualifications, your UK ENIC reference number if applicable, and your English Language Test reference number if applicable.

Once the Recruitment Team is satisfied that the requirements for sponsorship have been met, we will assign your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Once assigned, we will email you your CoS which you will need to apply for your visa.

You must keep the Recruitment Team updated on the progress of your visa application.

Certificate of Sponsor Duration

We will assign your CoS based on the duration of your employment contract with us. If you have a permanent contract, you will be issued with a 3-year CoS. You can apply to extend your visa as many times as you like (subject to your contractual position) as long as you still meet the eligibility requirements.

After five years, you may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain ‘settlement’.

Applying for your visa

We recommend familiarising yourself with the application process before you apply as you will need to provide various documentation, depending on your circumstances.

You can apply for your visa up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work in the UK. This is the date listed on your CoS.

Dependents

Your partner and children can apply to join you or to stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible. If their application is successful, their visa will end on the same date as yours. 

Find out more about dependants on the GOV.UK website.

Timeframes

Once you have completed your application, you will usually get a decision from the Home Office within:

  • three weeks, if you’re outside the UK
  • eight weeks, if you're inside the UK

You’ll receive an email with the decision and details of what you need to do next.

Fast-tracked decisions

You may be able to apply for a faster decision on your visa application. The timeframes associated with the fast-track decisions depend on whether you are applying from inside the UK or outside the UK.

Costs

You will need to pay for your visa application and the healthcare surcharge. Rates are available on the GOV.UK website. Please note that if you are including dependents in your visa application, the rates will also apply to them.

Support with visa costs

The University is able to offer an interest-free loan of £1,500 to help cover the cost of your visa fee and healthcare surcharge. You will be able to request the visa loan once we have issued your CoS. The loan will be recovered from your salary in 12 equal monthly instalments upon the start of your employment.

Receiving the decision

You will receive an email from the Home Office with the result of your visa application and details of the next steps. If your application is successful and you verified your identity through the UK Immigration: ID Check app, your application status will be completely online and you do not need a biometric residence permit (BRP).

If you verified your identity at a visa application centre, you will need to collect your biometric residence permit (BRP) once you are in the UK. You must do this before the vignette sticker in your travel document expires, or within ten days of arriving in the UK, whichever is later.

You can collect your BRP from a name Post Office branch; the closest one to the University is in Derby city centre. 

You cannot use your BRP to confirm your right to work. Instead, once you receive your BRP you can prove your right to work online.

In making your travel plans, you should aim to arrive in the UK prior to your start date at the University.

Right to work check

Once you have your online right to work status, please let the Recruitment Team know so that we can verify your status.

We will also need to see your BRP. We must verify your right to work before your start in post.

Refusals

If your visa application is refused, you will receive a letter or an email from the Home Office explaining why it has been refused.

You must let the Recruitment Team know immediately if your application is refused as the University will need to notify UKVI as part of its reporting obligations. 

The Graduate visa (replacing the previous Doctoral Extension Scheme) gives students permission to stay in the UK (and work) for 2 years after successfully completing a course in the UK (if you have completed a PhD or other doctoral qualification, you can stay for 3 years). You can apply for the Graduate visa if the following are true:

  • You are in the UK (they must apply from inside the UK)
  • Your current visa is a Student visa
  • You studied a UK bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for a minimum period of time
  • Your education provider has told the Home Office that they have successfully completed their course

If your partner and children joined you in the UK as ‘dependants’ on your current Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa, they can apply to stay as dependants as on your Graduate visa.

More information on the cost of the visa and the application process is available on the GOV.UK website.

As this is a non-sponsored route, it is your responsibility check your eligibility, and to manage your visa application, though the Recruitment Team can advise where necessary. If successful, we would need to see proof of your eligibility to work in the UK before you commence employment. Once your Graduate visa expires, you would need to apply for another visa route to continue working in the UK. At this point, the university would consider the suitability of the Skilled Worker route. More information on the Skilled Worker route is available on the GOV.UK website.

The High Potential Individual (HPI) route is a non-sponsored route, launched on 30 May 2022. The HPI route is available to individuals that have been awarded a qualification by an overseas eligible institution within the 5 years immediately before the date of the application.

Your qualification must meet or exceed the standard of a UK bachelor’s or postgraduate degree, and must be confirmed by ECCTIS.

You’ll also need to prove your knowledge of English.A HPI visa usually lasts for 2 years, if you have a PhD or other doctoral qualification, it will last for 3 years.Your partner and children can apply to join you or to stay in the UK as your ‘dependents’ if they are eligible. More information on the cost of the visa and the application process is available on the GOV.UK website.

As this is a non-sponsored route, it is your responsibility to check your eligibility and to manager your visa application, though the Recruitment Team can advise where necessary. If your visa application is successful, we will need to see proof of your eligibility to work in the UK before you commence employment.

Once your HPI visa expires, you would need to apply for another visa route to continue working in the UK. At this point, the university would consider the suitability of the Skilled Worker Route.

The Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) visa route is a temporary work visa available for individuals who are coming to the UK for a short time for work experience, training, an Overseas Government Language Programme, research or a fellowship through an approved government authorised exchange scheme.

The GAE visa route is a sponsored route and the university is able to sponsor those who are eligible.

You may be eligible to apply for a UK Ancestry visa if you are one of the following:

  • A Commonwealth citizen
  • A British overseas citizen
  • A British overseas territories citizen
  • A British National (overseas)
  • A citizen of Zimbabwe

You must also:

  • Prove one of your grandparents was born in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man
  • Meet the other eligibility requirements

Should your application for a UK Ancestry visa be successful, you will be permitted to work in the UK.

It is your responsibility to check your eligibility, and to manage your visa application, though the Recruitment Team can advise where necessary. If successful, we would need to see proof of your eligibility to work in the UK before you commence employment.

A UK Ancestry visa allows you to live and work in the UK for 5 years, after which time you can either apply to extend your visa for a further 5 years or apply for settlement in the UK (‘indefinite leave to remain’).

You can find out more about the Ancestry visa and the application process on the GOV.UK website.

You may be eligible to apply for a dependent visa to live and work in the UK if your partner:

  • Is a British or Irish citizen
  • Has settled status in the UK, e.g. through indefinite leave to remain, settled status or proof of permanent residence;
  • Is from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechenstein and has pre-settled status (they must have started living in the UK before 01 January 2021)
  • Has a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa
  • Has refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK
  • You and your partner must both be 18 or over and you must intend to live together permanently in the UK after you apply.

It is your responsibility to check your eligibility, and to manage your visa application, though the Recruitment Team can advise where necessary. If successful, we would need to see proof of your eligibility to work in the UK before you commence employment.

A dependent visa allows you to live and work in the UK until the expiry of your visa, after which time you can apply to extend your visa.

You can find out more about the dependent visa and the application process on the GOV.UK website.

Depending on your Student visa, you will have specific permissions that determine whether you are able to work in the UK, either during or after your studies.

Students studying a course at degree level or above are usually permitted to work a maximum of 20 hours per week in term-time. This includes paid or unpaid work. You can work for more than one employer, as long as your total weekly hours do not exceed 20 hours.

Students studying a course below degree level are usually permitted to work a maximum of 10 hours per week in term-time. This includes paid or unpaid work. You can work for more than one employer, as long as your total weekly hours do not exceed 10 hours.

You can work full time during vacation periods. The University of Derby term dates can be found on our key dates page.

If your visa states ‘No work or recourse to public funds’, you are not permitted to work in the UK.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or require any support please contact us by email at HRUKVI@derby.ac.uk