Guides / Skilled Worker visas

Skilled Worker visa applications

What the gov.uk Skilled Worker application asks for, where firms lose time preparing it, and how Aion fills it from the client's and sponsor's documents. Written for immigration solicitors and IAA-registered advisers.

Last updated: 15 October 2026

The application at a glance

• Who applies: workers with a job offer from a Home Office approved sponsor, applying from outside the UK, or extending or switching from inside it. They can apply up to 3 months before the start date on their certificate of sponsorship (gov.uk).
• The job: it must be an eligible occupation. New roles must be higher-skilled unless the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List. Some people extending a visa first sponsored before 22 July 2025 can stay in medium-skilled roles (gov.uk).
• Salary: usually the higher of £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation. In some circumstances it can be lower, down to £33,400.
• English: B2 for new applications and for people switching from another visa, since 8 January 2026. People extending a Skilled Worker visa they held before that date still need B1 (gov.uk).
• Length: up to 5 years, after which the worker may be able to apply to settle.

What the online form asks for

The gov.uk documents list sets out what every applicant needs:

• From the certificate of sponsorship: the reference number, job title, annual salary, occupation code, and the employer's name and sponsor licence number.
• Identity: a valid passport or other document showing identity and nationality.
• English: proof of the required level, or the nationality or qualification that exempts the applicant.

And what some applicants need:

• Savings: at least £1,270 held for 28 days in a row, with day 28 within 31 days of applying. This is not needed if the applicant has been in the UK on a valid visa for at least 12 months, or if the sponsor certifies maintenance on the certificate of sponsorship (gov.uk).
• Criminal record certificates: for applicants outside the UK working in education, healthcare, therapy or social services. Applicants under 28 need one from every country they have spent 12 months or more in since turning 18. Applicants 28 or over need one from any country they have stayed in over the last 10 years.
• TB test results: for applicants from listed countries.
• ATAS certificate: for some PhD-level research roles in sensitive subjects.
• Qualifications: a UK PhD certificate, or an Ecctis reference number for a qualification from outside the UK, where the application relies on that qualification.
• Family: proof of relationship for a partner or children applying as dependants.
• Translations: certified translations of anything not in English or Welsh.

The online form also asks for the usual personal details, immigration history, travel history and criminal record questions.

Where firms lose time

Transcribing the certificate of sponsorship

The CoS reference, occupation code, salary and sponsor licence number all have to be typed into the form exactly as the sponsor assigned them. A wrong digit means a mismatch with the Home Office record.

Dependants

A partner and each child apply separately, each with their own form, repeating much of the main applicant's information. For a family of four, that is four applications to fill.

Travel and immigration history

Previous UK visas, refusals and travel over several years have to be gathered from old passports and the client's records, then entered for each applicant.

Rule changes

The July 2025 skill and salary changes and the January 2026 English change mean the right threshold depends on when the worker was first sponsored. Each file needs that checked before anything goes into the form.

How Aion handles a Skilled Worker application

1. Start an application in Aion, choose Skilled Worker, say whether the applicant is in the UK, and add your firm's representative details.
2. Upload the client's documents with the certificate of sponsorship details, English evidence and any savings, TB or criminal record documents.
3. Aion extracts the CoS details, identity, history and supporting evidence into one summary.
4. Your caseworker checks and edits that summary before anything is filled. The original documents are deleted as soon as extraction succeeds.
5. Aion fills the gov.uk application in a live browser your team can watch, and stops at the Declaration page with a report of anything missing or uncertain.
6. Your team reviews the whole application and submits it. Aion never submits.

Each dependant is a separate gov.uk application, and a separate application in Aion.

What stays with your firm

• Advice on whether the job, salary and English evidence meet the rules that apply to this worker.
• Working with the sponsor on the certificate of sponsorship.
• Submitting the application, paying the fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, and the identity check or biometrics appointment.

Worried about putting client data into an AI tool? Read Is it safe to use AI for UK visa applications? and our security summary. Comparing tools? See Aion vs Immigrationist.

Sources: gov.uk: Skilled Worker visa · Your job · Knowledge of English · Documents you must provide · How much it costs. Requirements change. Check gov.uk before relying on any figure here.