Other UK Work Visas: Visa Types & How To Apply

The United Kingdom has streamlined its work visas and updated the immigration rules in recent years in lined with the purpose of preventing illegal migrants from coming to the UK and other migrant workers, and UK employers from taking advantage of loopholes available in previous visas. 

In this attempt, various work visas also have been replaced by more streamlined, targeted and stricter visas. 

The government also puts the onus on the employers to conduct a right-to-work check before recruiting employees to prevent illegal working in the UK. Employees, on the other hand, are required to meet stricter visa requirements. For example, the Skilled Worker visa, which replaced the former Tier 2 General Visa, has been made tougher for new applicants and employers as the minimum salary and skill threshold has been increased substantially in 2025.

The UK has other work visa categories aimed at specific purposes. Some of these visas include the Domestic Worker Visa, the Service Supplier Visa, the Representative of Overseas Business Visa, Tier 2 General Visa, Self Sponsorship Skilled Worker Visa, Intra Company Transfer Visa, Seasonal Worker Visa, and Religious Worker visa. 

Please note that some of these routes are closed to the new applicants.

Domestic Worker

The UK Domestic Worker visa is for overseas individuals who wish to come to the UK to work here as a domestic worker for their current employer overseas. Domestic workers include cleaners, chauffeurs, nannies, cooks, and those providing personal care for the employer and their family.

A person applying for entry clearance to the UK on this route must be outside the UK, a domestic worker in the same private household as their employer or one they use regularly, and have been employed as a domestic worker by the employer for at least 12 months immediately before the date of application.

This visa is valid for a period of 6 months only, and dependants (Partner and Children) are not allowed on this route. 

However, those who applied for a Domestic Worker Visa on or before 5 April 2012 can apply to extend their stay, settle permanently in the UK, and bring their spouse/civil partner and children under 18 to the UK.

Service Supplier Visa

The UK Service Supplier Visa under the Global Business Mobility route is for overseas migrant workers undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK. The worker applying for this route to come to or stay in the UK must be a contractual service supplier employed by a service provider overseas or a self-employed independent professional based overseas, and they are required to undertake an assignment in the UK to provide services that are covered by one of the UK’s international trade agreements.

An applicant must have a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) from their UK employer that holds a valid sponsor licence and have worked for their employer for 12 months or more outside the UK. 

If the applicant is a self-employed service provider, they must have professional experience for at least 12 months.

A partner and children of a service supplier can apply as ‘dependents’ to come to or stay in the UK on this route.

The Service Supplier route is not a route to settlement.

Representative Of Overseas Business

A person applying as a Representative of an Overseas Business to come to or stay in the UK must be a media representative.   

Sole Representatives of overseas businesses can no longer apply for entry clearance in the UK through a Representative of an Overseas Business visa. However, a sole representative already in the UK can still apply to extend or settle in the United Kingdom. Overseas businesses wanting to establish a UK branch or subsidiary may send staff on the UK Expansion Worker - Global Business Mobility route.

A media representative is a person posted to the UK on a long-term assignment as an employee of an overseas news agency, newspaper, or broadcasting organisation.

A Sole Representative, on the other hand, is a senior employee of an overseas business who is being assigned to the UK to establish a branch or subsidiary.

A spouse/civil partner and children can apply as ‘dependants’ under this route.

This is also a route to settlement.

Right to Work Check

All UK-based employers have a responsibility to prevent illegal working in the country. Employers do this by conducting simple right-to-work checks before employing a worker, ensuring the worker is not disqualified from carrying out the work in question in the UK by reason of their immigration status.

A Right to Work Check process involves checking acceptable documents of a worker before their employment begins and, if necessary, conducting follow-up checks.

Employers can use different methods, including manual right-to-work checks, digital checks, or the Home Office online right-to-work checking services. 

Key steps include examining the documents of prospective employees, verifying their information and expiry dates, retaining records of the documents as required by the Home Office, and getting further proof of the employee’s right to work or a follow-up check if needed. 

In some cases, employers need to verify employees’ visa details (for example, if they employ a worker on a Skilled Worker visa). They may also need to check the right to work for the family members of employees in certain circumstances.

Tier 2 General Visa

Please note that, Tier 2 (General) Work Visa is closed to new applicants and has been replaced by the UK Skilled Worker Visa in December 2020 as part of the UK’s immigration reforms post-Brexit. The Skilled Worker route included EU nationals from January 2021.

Tier 2 of the UK’s Points-Based System was introduced in November 2008. This catered to overseas skilled non-EEA and non-Swiss workers with an eligible job offer in the UK. Tier 2 migrants were required to get a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) from an approved Tier 2 sponsor, and once they received it, they could apply for entry clearance or leave to remain in the UK. They were also required to meet other requirements, including minimum salary and skill threshold, financial, and English language requirements.

Tier 2 General Visa was for migrant workers coming to the UK to fill a vacancy that could not be filled from within the resident labour force. This was normally because even after advertising the vacancy, the employer was unable to find a suitable resident worker (RLMT or the Resident Labor Market Test). Where the occupation was included on the Government’s SOL (Shortage Occupation List), an employer did not need to conduct the RLMT.

The UK Skilled Worker Visa replaced the previous Tier 2 General Visa. Therefore, no individual can apply for an entry clearance on a Tier 2 General Visa. However, existing Tier 2 General Visa holders can apply to extend their stay through a Skilled Worker visa or settle in the UK, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

Dependents (spouse/civil partner and children) of UK Tier 2 visa holders can apply to join or stay with them in the UK.

Self-Sponsorship Skilled Worker Visa

Non-UK nationals interested in setting up a new business in the UK, or those already owning an existing UK business, may be eligible to come to the UK to work through a Self-Sponsorship Skilled Worker visa. In this case, the applicant must be sponsored by their own UK company. To be sponsored or receive a Certificate of Sponsorship, their UK business will need to obtain a Skilled Worker sponsor license from the Home Office before they can apply for a Skilled Worker visa. The applicant is required to meet other requirements applicable to a Skilled Worker visa. 

The Self-Sponsorship Skilled Worker route is a route to settlement in the UK, and applicants can be joined by their dependents (spouse/civil partners and children). 

 Intra-Company Transfer Visa

The UK is a member of the WTO's (World Trade Organisation) GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services). As part of the GATS, the UK allows people to enter and stay temporarily for business purposes. This includes the ICT (Intra-Company Transfers) visa, an immigration route which enables international businesses to deploy key staff (senior managers or specialists) to their UK branch or head office. Deployment of staff is permitted on a temporary basis for a specific business need. The ICT route is open to established employees who have worked for their overseas branch for 12 months or more (with some exceptions).

Please note that the ICT visa has been replaced by the Senior or Specialist Worker Visa – Global Business Mobility. This means no new applicants can apply for an ICT visa. However, those already in the UK with an Intra-company visa or previously Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa can apply to extend their stay as a Senior or Specialist Worker. 

The ICT (Intra-Company Transfer) route is intended for temporary workers and, therefore, it is not a direct route to settlement in the UK, and time accrued under this route does not count towards permanent settlement, unless applying under the Appendix Long Residence ILR after 10 years in the UK lawfully.

On the other hand, if a person held a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa before 6 April 2011, they can stay in the UK for a maximum of 9 years employer is sponsoring them if they have been in the UK since 6 April 2011 on a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa, ICT (Intra-company Transfer) visa, or a Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility).

Seasonal Worker

The Seasonal Worker (Temporary Work) visa is a sponsored route, which means applicants need to obtain a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) from their UK employer with a valid temporary worker sponsor licence. This route is for a person wishing to come to the UK to do seasonal horticulture or poultry production work. A person on the Seasonal Worker route, if they are working in the horticulture sector, is permitted to stay for a maximum period of six months in any 12-month period, and, if they are working in a poultry production sector, they can stay for a period starting from 2 October and ending on 31 December each year.

A seasonal worker’s spouse/civil partner and children cannot apply as dependants on this route.This is not a route to settlement.

Religious Worker 

The Religious Worker (Temporary Work) visa is a sponsored category, which means those applying on this route need to obtain a valid CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) from their UK employer with a valid temporary worker sponsor licence. This route is for an individual wishing to come to the UK to 

A religious worker can be granted permission for up to a maximum of two years.

A religious worker’s spouse/civil partner and children can apply as dependants to come to or stay in the UK, on this route.This is not a route to settlement.