Long Term Work Visas (Overview)
If you’re coming to the UK for a number of years, our team of experts can help you apply for a long-term work visa.
Long term work visas give you leave to remain for a prolonged period of time. They can be used if you’re coming to the UK for a skilled job, work certain industries, have been transferred by your employer or are coming here as part of a graduate training scheme.
The rules are depending on where you are applying from and the type of visa you want. This section, therefore, will help you understand which visa you need, what it entitles you to and how you can apply.
Points based immigration system
Since January 2021, the UK operates a points-based system to determine entry. These are defined as follows. To qualify for a long-term work visa, you will need at least 70 points. These are earned by having a job offer, an appropriate skill level, English language skills and salary. Some of these are mandatory; others are tradeable to bring you up to a total of 70 points.
| Type | Mandatory/tradeable | Points |
| Offer of job by approved sponsor | Mandatory | 20 |
| Job at appropriate skill level | Mandatory | 20 |
| Speaks English at required level | Mandatory | 10 |
| Salary of £20,480 to £23,039 or at least 80% of the going rate for the profession (whichever is higher) | Tradeable | 0 |
| Salary of £23,040 to £25,599 or at least 90% of the going rate for the profession (whichever is higher) | Tradeable | 10 |
| Salary of £25,600 or above or at least the going rate for the profession (whichever is higher) | Tradeable | 20 |
| Job in a shortage occupation as designated by the Migration Advisory Committee | Tradeable | 20 |
| Education qualification: PhD in a subject relevant to the job | Tradeable | 10 |
| Education qualification: PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job | Tradeable | 20 |
| Education qualification: PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job | Tradeable | 20 |