Can You Travel Outside The Uk With A Skilled Worker Visa?
Do you want to travel sometime soon, yet you have questions when it comes to your skilled worker visa? If that is the case, this article is for you. In fact, the majority of visitors to the United Kingdom on in-country visas may now keep their passports while their visa applications are processed. However, can you travel outside the UK without a proper passport or residential visa? What to do in this case? Keep on reading to find out.
What is a skilled worker visa?
Using the Skilled Worker visa, employers can hire qualified non-UK citizens to work in their chosen sector. This allows anyone to work within a specific field, as long as they’re qualified for it. In this case, you can move to the UK and enjoy all sorts of benefits.
Skilled Worker Visas have been called and known as Tier 2 Visas for a while now. They allow you to live and work in the United Kingdom if you have a job offer from a licensed sponsoring firm that is willing to pay for your insurance, health benefits & regular salary. However, you might be concerned about the length of time that you can spend outside the nation and how it would affect your future stay in the United Kingdom, right? Here is what you can do in that case.
You can apply outside the UK and do it online
You must submit your skilled worker visa application online before you head out and onto your trip. Always check the documentation requirements before applying. Now the real question is; will you be traveling on your own, or with your spouse and children? Either way it may be, you are all looking at obtaining individual applications, as there are no additional perks in this case.
So, after having your fingerprints and photo taken at a visa application center, use the “UK Immigration: ID Check” app to scan your identity document. The site is easy to navigate, and you shouldn’t have any issues with it. You will know what to do from there.
How to apply?
Visa applicants for the Skilled Worker category must submit an online application, and supporting documentation, and they have to pay their fee. You can gather all the paperwork within a reasonable time frame, allowing you not to rush the process.
The Certificate of Sponsorship permits applications up to three months before the worker’s anticipated start date in the United Kingdom. You as a candidate must submit an online application within three months of getting a sponsorship certificate.
However, what is important to outline is that every sector is different and unique in its own way, and that different rules may apply in some cases. For instance, if you plan on working in education, health, or social care in the United Kingdom, you must provide a criminal record certificate from any nation in which you’ve lived for at least 12 months in the past 10 years. All of this has to be double-checked, or else you won’t be allowed in the UK. The candidate must satisfy all other criteria to visit and live in the UK.
How long can you remain on a UK skilled worker visa?
A UK Skilled Worker visa is valid for the duration of your contract or for five years if your term is limitless. Every job, employer, or company can give out different contracts in terms of their length and time. This varies and can be prolonged.
So, after your visa expires, you can:
A) Apply for indefinite leave to remain if you’ve spent five years in the United Kingdom on a Skilled Worker visa and meet the other conditions for ILR applicants, such as English proficiency and the Life in the UK test.
B) Extend your visa if you meet all immigration requirements, your employer extends your contract, or you have found a new employer who can offer you a certificate of sponsorship;
Application fees for a UK skilled worker visa
Costs associated with obtaining a Skilled Worker visa vary based on the number of applicants, length of visa validity, and application location. It is not too pricey just to give you a heads-up. So, to determine the precise amount you must pay, you must account for all expenses that go into the making process. For instance, when you submit your application online, you must pay a government charge for it to be processed.
The amount you pay depends on the following:
A) Location of application – British visa center outside or within the UK (if you extend your Skilled Worker visa or change a visa category)
B) Period of stay – less than or equal to three years
C) If your profession is on the list of shortage occupations, you will pay less regardless of where you submit your application.
D) Nationality of the applicant: nationals of 25 European nations pay £55 less. This discount can be added to your qualification discount.
So, can you travel outside the UK with a skilled worker visa?
In the end, this is something that probably intrigues you the most, right? Well, to meet this criterion, applicants for ILR who possess a Skilled Worker visa must have not spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period during the five-year qualifying period. If you meet this requirement, you can travel all you want!
For any more questions and detailed information about skilled worker visa in UK, you can find your answers right here and in this guide! You will get all of your questions answered in one place and you’re going to enjoy this helpful article. These are immigration lawyers who have been making applications on behalf of their clients for many years now, and have been putting smiles up on their faces. You can get in touch today to start your application with ease thanks to their helpful guide. Give them a go and see for yourself.