Self-Sponsorship is the most formidable way of the UK Skilled Worker visa for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to establish themselves in the UK. The self-sponsorship approach is a way to leverage the UK’s point-based Skilled Worker visa system, allowing foreign businesses to create a company in the UK, apply for and obtain a sponsor license, and effectively sponsor themselves for a UK work visa.

Though the Home Office has recently announced major changes (including a rise in salary, English language, and skill level requirements for applicants and a rise in immigration skill charge and other changes for sponsors) to the immigration rules for the Skilled Worker route, Self-sponsorship is still possible.

What is the UK Self-sponsorship Skilled Worker visa?

Self-sponsorship for the Skilled Worker visa is not a distinct UK visa category. It is a strategy typically followed by international entrepreneurs and business owners to work for their own companies in the UK. It is a strategic application of the UK Skilled Worker visa framework. It enables company owners to secure a Skilled Worker status in the UK to work for their own company, but not any other company in the UK.

Steps in the UK Self-sponsorship Skilled Worker visa process

Self-sponsorship on the Skilled Worker route implies that a person can use their own company to sponsor themselves to work in the UK and be able to exercise full control, flexibility, and freedom to develop a business or career in the UK according to their terms and conditions.

Self-sponsorship for the Skilled Worker visa works as follows:

1. Create a UK limited company

The first step for a person is to incorporate a new company in the UK if they do not already have one.  They must initially decide on a business structure and then proceed to register the company with Companies House in the UK. The registration process can also be completed from abroad. Registering a company in the UK involves steps such as giving the company a name, registering its physical address, appointing company directors, providing a list of shareholders, and selecting the correct SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code.

2. Apply for and obtain a sponsor license for the company registered in the UK

If a person wants to self-sponsor themselves, their company in the UK is required to be registered on the Home Office Sponsor Licence register. For this, their company must apply for a sponsor licence from the Home Office. If the company shows that it meets the eligibility criteria as a sponsor licence applicant, the Home Office will issue a sponsor licence to the company. The company will need an Authorising officer/Level 1user to be a settled or British national. 

3. The company assigns a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) for a genuine skilled role

Once the company in the UK obtains a sponsor licence, it can assign a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) to an eligible worker on the Skilled Worker route, including the applicant looking for self-sponsorship. The CoS is a mandatory electronic record required to employ workers on UK work routes. A CoS contains a person’s job title, job details, salary being offered, start and end date of the work, etc. The applicant, being self-sponsored, will require a CoS reference number when applying for a Skilled Worker Visa. 

4. Apply for a UK Skilled Worker visa

Once the company has assigned a person a CoS, they can apply to come to or stay in the UK as a Skilled Worker. They must:

• have a genuine employment 

• be employed in an eligible occupation

• meet the minimum skill threshold

• meet the minimum salary threshold

• meet the proficiency in the English Language requirement

Compliance Obligations

UK Self-sponsorship for Skilled Worker visa creates a dual role as sponsor as well as sponsored worker. As a sponsor, the person will need to show that they comply with significant sponsor duties:

1. Sponsor duties: Their company must

• Carry out right-to-work checks and maintain accurate records of their employment

• Report certain events to the Home Office, such as changes to the worker’s job role, workplace, or salary

• Cooperate with Home Office pre-licence and post-licence compliance visits and/or digital audits

• Ensure the business remains active and trading

2. Follow the Current Immigration Rule Updates (2026)

Whether a person/company is already a licensed sponsor or looking to be one, they need to know the recent changes to the Skilled Worker route, effective from 22 July 2025 and 8 January 2026. More changes related to settlement are under consultation until 12 February 2026.

• The company must offer a job at the skill level of RQF Level 6 and above (except those listed on ISL (Immigration Salary List) or newly introduced TSL (Temporary Shortage List))

• The standard salary threshold has increased to £41,700.

• Fresh application for entry clearance for care workers (SOC 6135 and 6136) under the UK Health and Care Worker visa – a subcategory of the Skilled Worker route closed on 22 July 2025. However, in-country switching is permitted until 22 July 2028, provided the worker has been legally employed on the sponsor’s UK payroll for at least 3 months prior to the day they are issued the CoS, and ensuring UK employment laws are fully complied with.

• Those applying on or after 22 July 2025 in “medium-skilled” roles at RQF 3-5 Level (below Graduate Level), i.e., roles on the ISL or TSL, new dependants (partner and children) are generally not allowed to apply unless transitional protections apply.

• From 8 January 2026, the new English language ability for skilled workers has been increased to level B2 in all 4 components: speaking, reading, writing, and understanding under the CEFR.

• The Home Office, before granting sponsor licence approvals, is currently demanding increased evidence of any business’s trading activity.

• These developments make it essential to ensure that a person looking to self-sponsor plans the incorporation of a company in the UK and ensures that there is adherence to each change in effect.

Applying for Self-sponsorship Skilled Worker Visa

Whether a person is applying for entry clearance to the UK as a Skilled Worker from overseas or to switch to this visa from a different UK visa to stay in the UK, or extending their existing permission as a Skilled Worker, they will need to apply online on the government's official website gov.uk. 

As part of the application, they will have to prove their identity and nationality. For this purpose, they will have to submit their biometric information (fingerprints and facial photograph). Depending on where they are from and what type of passport they have, they can scan and upload their passport by using the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app, or by attending an appointment at either an overseas VAC (Visa Application Centre) or at a UKVCAS (UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services) service point within the UK.

The applicant using self-sponsorship will then be required to pay any visa application fee and the IHS (Immigration Health Surcharge), and then wait for a decision from the Home Office. 

How can Visa and Migration help?

UK Self-sponsorship allows you to start your work and life journey in the UK, become your own employer, run your own business, and finally settle in the UK without being a burden to the UK economy. Please note that settlement rules have been tightened by the UK government in the recent past, and further rules increasing the continuous residence period from 5 years to 10 years, which would make the settlement process for Skilled Workers tougher, are under consultation. However, the provision of ‘earned settlement’ for high contributors to the UK economy and society (this would enable a person to settle with a shorter period of residence in the UK) has also been proposed by the Home Office. 

Visa and Migration is a London-based immigration specialist agency with a proven record in helping entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, and skilled workers secure an appropriate visa to live, work, and grow their business in the UK. We can help you register a company in the UK, apply for and obtain a sponsor licence, and apply for a Skilled Worker visa as part of a self-sponsorship strategy.

For expert guidance, you can call us at +44 (0)20 3411 1261 or write to info@visaandmigration.com.