Whether you are an international student who has completed their education in the UK or a foreigner who is looking to get a job and move to the UK, getting a UK sponsorship visa can be extremely tough.
There is also a list 62,588 company names in the UK government's website that are eligible to sponsor foreigners but that is of no help. The list does not even state what companies are actively sponsoring, so do not waste your time going through that.
Instead, read this blog till the end to understand how you can get a UK work visa through a sponsorship.
What is Sponsorship?
Sponsorship is a certificate from an approved employer in the UK stating that they are providing you with a job along with information regarding the job. This certificate is called Certificate of Sponsorship [CoS]. It is one of the major requirements to get a work visa which in turn allows you to come to the UK and work there.
In simple words, the employer is sponsoring your entry into the UK. You cannot get a work visa without sponsorship from an eligible UK company.
An important requirement for getting a UK visa is that the salary offered should be above the minimum requirement for different kinds of jobs.
How to find companies that offer sponsorship?
Now that you have decided to move to the UK with a UK skilled worker visa, you will have to search for companies that could be your sponsor. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. As mentioned above, there are 62,588 UK companies licensed to sponsor foreigners but how would you find the one that could sponsor you out of these many?
It is not possible to go through every company on the list, call every single employer and ask them about sponsorship. So what should you do? Here are some ways to find companies that would sponsor you:
Job-finding websites and apps
Job-finding websites and apps are a great way of finding jobs almost anywhere. They act as a middleman between a company and the user looking for a job. LinkedIn, Indeed and Monster are some of the leading job-finding websites.
Here, you need to go to a job-finding site and search for all the jobs available in the UK. Filter down your search based on your area of work, location, salary, working hours and such. Now, you have all the jobs that suit you. But these sites do not have a filter for jobs that offer sponsorship.
So cross-check employers on the UK government’s licensed employer’s list with ctrl + f before applying.
Tips to get the sponsorship
Landing jobs in the UK with visa sponsorship is easier said than done. The hiring process of most companies is very challenging to crack and the competition is fierce. Although there are almost 66,000 sponsorship licensed companies, only a limited number of them hire regularly. To help you stand out from the competition and get the job, the following are some tips:
Start Early
We are not talking about the early 3 months. We are talking early in the year. If you want to start your job this time, next year, the time to start job-hunting is now. A lot of the leading companies in the UK start their hiring process a year before the actual work begins.
Also, starting early gives you an advantage as a lot of the jobs are still available in the job market, increasing your chances of landing one.
Get it Clear
Before you go through all the efforts of making the perfect application for a UK company, give them a call. There might be a chance that even though they are licensed to provide sponsorships, they are not interested in them at the moment.
So, call them and enquire about sponsorship and all the other details before making an application.
Think Big
When looking to get a sponsorship, you should only have eyes for the big firms. The smaller ones do not have a big budget to sponsor foreigners. On the other hand, big firms will have enough budget to sponsor foreigners to help you get a UK job visa.
The chances of getting sponsorships from global companies in the UK are pretty high considering these companies are always looking for diversity.
Target
This tip will save you lots of time and effort. Before you apply for a job in too many companies, you should consider setting a target for the kind of companies where your chances of getting recruited are the highest.
For example, if you have the relevant skills you should target companies that provide professional services to their clients like banks, schools, law firms and such. Your chances of getting into them are higher than other companies.
Uniqueness
This goes without saying that your application must stand out from the crowd for you to get the job. You should make a perfectly tailored application for the jobs you are applying to instead of sending the same application to everyone. Also do not forget to highlight the fact that you are multilingual and if you have experience with other cultures, show that too.
Sometimes, you should leave things to the experts. When it comes to getting a visa, the tiniest mistake could lead to the rejection of your application and you will have to do the process all over again.
So, people usually hire UK visa consultants, immigration lawyers and other third parties to tide you over.
While not every one of these third parties provides this service, a lot of them do. Some agencies will even hook you up with one of their dedicated job search consultants to help you land the job that will in turn help you land in the UK.
Get professional help
That was everything you needed to know on how to get a UK work visa from India. To get the worker’s visa, you will need a Certificate of Sponsorship from approved UK companies. You should follow the tips given here to find and land the perfect job in the UK.